a 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

CARROLL  ALCOTT 

PRESENTED  BY 

CARROLL  ALCOTT  MEMORIAL 
LIBRARY  FUND  COMMITTEE 


Other  Books  by  Paul  Myron 

Linebarger    Brothers    Publishers,   announce 

the  following  future  issues  of  booths 

by  Paul  Myron 


BOOKS  ON  CATHAY 

Chinese  John.  To  correct  our  false  im- 
pressions of  the  Chinese. 

Latch  Strings  to  China.  An  interpreta- 
tion of  Chinese  life  through  tales  of 
tragedy,  mystery  and  humor. 

ROMANCES  OF  TRAVEL 

Daniel  Dares.  A  round  the  world  de- 
scriptive novel  which  centers  its  romance 
in  the  Latin  Quarter. 

The  World  Gone  Mad.  The  intimate 
study  of  a  woman's  love  as  influenced  by 
the  horrors  of  war. 

Miss  American  Dollars.  In  which  an 
American  girl  shows  the  mettle  of  her 
patriotism  while  journeying  through  war- 
ridden  Europe. 

RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHIC 

Christian  Science  from  a  Wesleyan 
View  Point.  A  popular  study  of  Chris- 
tian Science  compared  with  the  teachings 
of  John  Wesley. 


Linebarger  Brothers  Publishers 

Milwaukee,  Wis.,  Linebarger  Terrace 


Photo  by  Rio  V.  De  Sieux. 

General  Hwang  Using,  China's  Man  of  Action. 


OUR  CHINESE  CHANCES 


EUROPE'S  WAR 


By 
PAUL    MYRON 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHICAGO 

LINEBARGER  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

Linebarger  Terrace,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
M  C  M  X  V 


COPYRIGHTED  1915 

BY 
P.  W.  LINEBARGER 


7/v 


CONTENTS 


PART  I.    CHINESE  RAPPROCHEMENT 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Thoughts  That  Bring  Us  Nearer  to  the  Chinese 9 

II.     China  is  Not  Overpopulated 14 

III.  The  Passing  of  Feng  Sui 24 

IV.  Early  Marriages  and  Secondary  Wives 31 

V.    Lily-Foot  Vanity  35 

VI.     Everyday  China  39 

VII.     From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking 60 

VIII.     The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital 77 

IX.     Spirit  Tombs 90 

X.     The  Great  Wall  of  Peace 97 

XI.     The  Chinese  Emigrants 103 

XII.     Hongkong,  the  Brightest  Jewel  of  the  British  Colo- 
nial Crown  118 

XIII.  Manchu  Influence  on  Chinese  Cities 125 

XIV.  The  Mission  of  the  Missionaries 130 

XV.     The  Assembling  of  a  Nation 139 

XVI.    The  Chinese  Abroad 144 

XVII.     The  Chinese  as  the  Brown  Man's  Guide 148 

XVIII.    An  Asiatic  Melting  Pot 153 

XIX.     The  Future  Religion  of  China 156 

XX.     The  Illumination  of  Chop  Suey 159 

3 


1167219 


4  Contents 

PART  II.    BUSINESS  IN  CHINA 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXL    American  Commerce  in  China 161 

XXII.    Hints  to  Merchants  and  Manufacturers 170 

XXIII.  Trade  Chances  in  China  and  South  America  Com- 

pared      178 

XXIV.  Effect  of  Europe's  War 182 

XXV.    Preparation  for  Chinese  Trade 186 

XXVI.    The  China  of  Tomorrow 189 

PART  in.  YUAN  AND  THE  WEAKNESS  OF 

DESPOTISM 
XXVII.    General  Hwang  Hsing,  Patriot 191 

XXVIII.    Yuan  the  Red 197 

XXIX.    The  Back  Stairs  to  Peking 202 

XXX.    Sun  Yat  Sen 207 

XXXI.     Chinese  Nationalist  League  and  Lin  Sun 211 

XXXII.    Japanese  Peril  in  China 214 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


General  Hwang  Hsing — The  Iron  Willed Frontispiece 

Pagoda  Anchorage,  Foochow.  Rice  Junk  Near  Kiukiang.  Sur- 
face Graves  Near  Shanghai.  Prayer  Wheel,  Peking 30 

January  in  Old  Shanghai.  January  in  Canton.  From  Signal 
Station,  Hongkong.  Bridge  of  10,000  Ages,  Foochow 46 

A  Common  Road  Bridge.  A  Glimpse  of  China;  fair  even  in 
winter.  Boys  who  do  Men's  work  on  Baby  Rations.  Their 
First  Aeroplane 62 

One  of  Peking's  Wall  Towers.     Part  of  Peking  Wall 78 

Pailow,  Llama  Temple,  Temple  of  Heaven,  Bell  Tower,  Peking    94 

Entrance  to  Ming  Tombs.  Typical  Approach  to  China's  1001 
Walled  Cities.  Little  Chinese  John!  Our  Best  Friend  and 
May  He  Always  Remain  So.  A  Lapidary 110 

The  Flowery  Pagoda,  Canton 126 

One  of  Soochow's  Bridges.  Three  Storied  Roof  Anchoring  whole 
Structure.  A  Soochow  Pagoda.  Gateway  to  a  Nabob's 
Compound  142 

Chien  Men  Street,  Peking.     Camel  Caravan .' 158 

Five  Storied  Pagoda,  Canton 174 

China's  Brightest  Hope 190 

Sun  Yat  Sen,  China's  Herald  of  Liberty 206 

Lin  Sun,  President  Chinese  Nationalist  League 212 


PREFACE 

In  the  lull  of  the  terrible  European  conflict  which  is  sweep- 
ing around  the  world,  we  hear  a  word  from  Great  China,  and 
it  is  still  for  peace,  although  groaning  under  the  despotism  of 
Yuan  Shih-K'ai  and  menaced  by  the  Japanese. 

Therefore,  what  moment  is  more  auspicious  for  a  considera- 
tion of  the  Chinese  as  our  friends  and  to  aid  them  to  throw  off 
despotism,  and  what  time  more  opportune  to  cement  our  good 
will  with  that  wonderful  Cathay,  now  the  only  other  great 
nation  of  the  whole  planet  not  at  war  with  another,  and  whose 
favor  is  especially  valuable  to  us  in  trade  opportunities  for 
which  and  elsewhere  other  nations  are  now  actually  in  armed 
contest  ? 

This  book  will  give  information  to  the  American  business 
man  concerning  the  general  conditions  and  consequent  busi- 
ness chances  in  China,  now  particularly  favorable  because  of 
the  large  withdrawal  of  German  and  English  competition  on 
account  of  the  war.  In  an  attempt  to  make  the  information 
more  entertaining,  descriptive  and  personal  narratives  of  the 
author's  three  visits  to  China,  the  third  of  which  was  just 
the  year  past,  have  been  freely  indulged  in,  some  of  which 
are  used  to  illustrate  his  conclusions  against  common  miscon- 
ceptions of  China  and  its  many  distinct  peoples. 

The  Chinese  are,  indeed,  not  much  different  from  our  own 
race,  and  we  are  rapidly  coming  to  a  closer  appreciation  of 
their  racial  nearness  to  us.  This  rapprochement  is  not  new; 
it  has  always  been  there,  but  we  are  only  just  commencing 
mutually  to  realize  its  force  as  China,  the  most  understandable 
country  of  the  Orient,  falls  in  line  with  the  advance  of  the 
whole  world's  progress.  To  show  this,  the  first  twenty  chapters 

7 


8  Preface 

consider  the  Chinese  generally,  the  last  six,  the  present  trade 
opportunities,  and  the  following  close  the  volume  as  an  arraign- 
ment of  the  despotic  rule  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai. 

Yes.  Our  great  commercial  chance  is  there.  Shall  we  not 
profit  by  it,  even  though  offered  by  the  terrible  misfortunes  of 
Europe's  war?  And  to  profit  by  it,  shall  we  not  have  to  speak 
and  act  against  the  tyranny  of  Yuan  which  is  holding  Great 
China  in  the  slavery  of  despotism,  for  awhile  so  successfully 
broken  by  those  brilliant  leaders:  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Hwang 
Hsing  and  their  colleagues. 

PAUL   MYKON. 


CHAPTER  I 

THOUGHTS   THAT   BRING   US   NEARER  TO   THE   CHINESE 

The  cause  of  Chinese  self-containedness  and  isolation  is 
entirely  geographical,  and  does  not,  in  any  measure,  come  from 
the  character  of  the  Chinese  themselves.  By  nature  they  are 
extremely  friendly  and  gregarious  and  fond  of  social  inter- 
course, readily  adapting  themselves  to  any  environment,  how- 
ever foreign  and  strange  it  may  be  to  them.  Throughout  its 
whole  history  China  has  been  the  victim  of  a  strangely  un- 
paralleled national  imprisonment.  All  of  its  land  boundaries 
were  fixed  by  nature  in  arid  steppes,  embattled  mountains,  icy 
plains  and  uninhabitable  plateaux.  On  its  sea  boundaries  it 
was  no  less  prescribed;  for  beyond  stretched  the  vast  expanse 
of  the  Pacific,  a  pathless  sea,  undiscovered  and  undreamt  of 
even  by  the  Occident  until  comparatively  recent  times. 

Can  we  wonder  then  that  the  Chinese,  although  naturally  an 
aggressive  and  enterprising  people,  after  finding  themselves  in 
undisputed  control  of  the  entire  world,  as  then  known  to  them, 
building  up  their  civilization  alone  from  their  own  native 
genius,  without  aid  from  foreign  sources,  would  finally  come 
to  that  resting  point  in  their  development  from  which,  by  the 
very  nature  of  their  environment,  further  progress  was  im- 
possible? Their  civilization  was  to  them  a  finished  work,  upon 
which  every  Chinese  gazed  with  reverence  as  he  crowned  it  with 
the  halo  of  Confucianism,  always  looking  backward  rather  than 
forward  for  his  models. 

Nor  was  this  national  isolation  all;  for  internally  the  sep- 
arate provinces  of  China  were  largely  lost  to  each  other  in 
helpful  influences  by  reason  of  the  lack  of  connecting  water- 
ways from  north  to  south,  the  solid  interior  of  the  country 

9 


10      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

being  only  broken  in  its  immensity  by  turbulent  rivers,  all 
rushing  onward  to  the  irrevocably  sealed  Pacific.  What  wonder 
then  that  the  Chinese  rested  upon  the  laurels  of  their  finished 
civilization  ?  They  had  advanced  as  far  as  nature  allowed  them, 
so  they  composed  themselves  and  waited.  If  the  system  of 
the  American  Great  Lakes,  which  during  the  ages  were  almost 
of  no  profit  to  man,  had  been  by  Providence  placed  midway 
between  Thibet  and  the  Pacific  and  Mongolia  and  the  Ira- 
waddy,  as  a  highway  of  communication  as  well  as  a  reservoir 
to  regulate  the  floods,  what  a  different  story  China  would 
tell  today! 

And  to  arouse  this  sleeping  giant  of  Chinese  Nationalism 
from  his  contented  dream  was  not  the  casual  exertion  of  a 
single  call.  Neither  the  pin  pricking  of  the  opium  wars  nor 
the  light  caress  of  missionary  advance  disturbed  him  in  his 
trance.  It  took  the  Japanese  conflict  to  even  cause  a  move- 
ment from  his  huge  frame,  and  not  until  the  invasion  of  the 
allied  forces  at  the  Boxer  outbreak  did  he  finally  realize  his 
deplorable  situation  in  the  new  world,  upon  which  his  eyes 
had  been  opened  and  which  he  viewed  with  humiliation  amid 
the  dangers  which  everywhere  surrounded  him.  But  once  con- 
scious of  the  peril,  see  with  what  promptitude  Chinese  fitness 
strikes  its  way  out  of  difficulty!  In  a  few  months,  a  time  so 
short  as  to  allow  no  other  comparison  with  great  political  re- 
forms in  the  whole  world's  history,  the  awakened  giant,  no 
longer  standing  abashed  in  the  midst  of  the  Nations,  suddenly 
appears  as  a  modern  Colossus  prepared  to  take  his  place  with 
dignity  and  strength,  as  soon  as  the  preliminary  political  dis- 
turbances are  settled,  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 

Much  information  about  China  has  come  through  the  cen- 
sorship of  the  English  opium  trade,  which  for  sinister  pur- 
poses has  considered  it  necessary  to  misrepresent  the  Chinese, 
portraying  them  as  a  vicious  and  debauched  people.  Hence 
they  have  been  reported  to  us  from  our  earliest  knowledge  of 


Nearer  to  the  Chinese  11 

them  as  an  immoral  and  deceitful  race,  corrupt  in  public  and 
degraded  in  private  life,  who,  without  patriotism  or  civic  pride, 
were  only  held  together  in  some  frail  semblance  of  government 
by  fear  of  barbarous  tortures  and  inhuman  death.  But  this 
unjust  and  misconceived  portrayal  is  dissolving  in  the  bright 
picture  of  the  Chinese  as  they  really  are;  a  people  very  much 
like  ourselves,  whose  waning  vices  and  waxing  virtues  will 
ultimately  place  them  among  the  most  advanced  and  favored 
nations. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  Chinese  are  not  more  unprogressive 
nor  less  intelligent  than  our  own  or  the  European  nations.  As 
far  as  commercial  conditions  go,  racial  distinctions  are  count- 
ing for  less  from  day  to  day.  The  world's  trade  miscegenation 
is  a  simple  question  to  solve  compared  with  the  mere  social 
question  of  color,  which  nowhere  is  of  such  import  as  in 
America,  nor  elsewhere  more  prejudicial  to  the  impartial  study 
of  another  race.  Color  and  creed  are  forgotten  by  all  races 
when  men  buy  and  sell,  but  it  is  left  for  the  Chinese  to  lead 
humanity  into  the  broadest  and  most  tolerant  respect  for  all 
other  races  and  their  thought,  and  in  that  respect  they  are  unique 
among  the  Oriental  races.  In  fact,  no  one  knowing  the  Chinese 
well  would  consider  them  Orientals  except  geographically. 

Let  us  also  disabuse  ourselves  of  the  common  misconception 
that  the  Chinese  are  a  dark,  mysterious,  enigmatical  people, 
entirely  incomprehensible  and  altogether  of  a  different  moral 
and  mental  makeup  from  ourselves,  for,  on  the  contrary,  frank- 
ness and  ingenuous  cordiality  are  their  strong  characteristics, 
and  there  is  no  emotion  of  which  we  are  capable  which  does 
not  find  its  counterpart  in  their  own  nature.  The  old  recital 
of  the  races  into  mere  color  distinctions  of  the  white,  yellow, 
brown,  black  and  red  has  become  a  vague  kindergarten  division, 
no  longer  to  be  seriously  considered.  If  you  separate  the  whole 
human  family  according  to  the  shape  of  the  bones  of  their 
cranium,  the  Chinese  must  be  classed  among  the  round  heads 


12      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

and  our  race  among  the  long  heads,  and  although  they  other- 
wise differ  from  us  in  physical  being,  still  in  the  psychology 
of  their  average  type  they  are  not  dissimilar  to  our  own  average. 
The  early  European  traders  in  China  who  had  little  occasion 
to  look  beneath  mere  appearances  started  the  report,  which  is 
still  accepted  by  many,  that  the  Chinese  are  an  enigma,  never 
to  be  solved  by  another  people.  Far  from  being  impenetrable, 
the  Chinese  are  equally  ingenuous  and  communicative  with  our- 
selves. Meet  a  Chinese  from  any  part  of  the  Middle  Kingdom, 
and  in  opening  conversation  with  him,  for  which  he  is  always 
eager,  you  will  find  him  evincing  the  liveliest  interest  in  you 
and  expecting  you  to  show  the  same  interest  in  his  own  affairs. 
He  will  ask  you  the  most  pointed  personal  questions  concern- 
ing the  success  of  your  calling,  your  worldly  goods,  and  even 
your  age,  evincing  genuine  sympathy  should  you  relate  any  mis- 
fortune. From  continued  friendly  association  with  them  one 
must  believe  that  they  are  much  more  easily  understood  by 
the  other  races  than  any  other  division  of  the  human  family. 
Much  of  the  misconception  of  the  Chinese  comes  from  taking 
seriously  the  statements  of  foreigners,  who  consider  that  mere 
length  of  residence  gives  a  knowledge  of  the  Chinese,  and  that 
the  longer  the  residence  the  weightier  the  opinion.  I  have  met 
those  who  have  resided  upwards  of  thirty  years  in  China  whose 
observation  faculties  were  so  dulled  by  the  monotony  of  their 
surroundings  that  their  actual  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  was 
pitiable.  Fresh  impressions,  verified  by  repeated  visits  to  China, 
supplemented  by  omnivorous  reading  and  questioning,  offer  the 
best  means  for  really  understanding  the  Chinese.  Foreigners 
live  so  much  among  themselves  that  it  is  hard  for  them  to  come 
to  independent  conclusions. 

Another  ground  of  misconception  comes  from  interpreting 
the  Chinese  by  mere  personal  idiosyncrasies.  For  example :  A 
twenty-year  resident  of  China  qualified  the  whole  nation  as 
incomprehensible  upon  numerous  data  of  idiosyncratic  in- 


Nearer  to  the  Chinese  13 

stances,  such  as  the  following:  During  the  Revolution,  while 
the  Imperialists  and  Republicans  were  in  action  at  Hankow, 
with  the  shrapnel  bursting  between  and  on  the  lines  of  the 
opposing  forces,  a  Chinese  farm  coolie  calmly  walked  out  into 
the  battlefield  and  unconcernedly  drove  home  a  flock  of  geese, 
from  which  the  resident  deduced  that  all  Chinese  are  foolhardy. 
It  is  the  above  sort  of  Chinese  interpretation,  well  intentioned 
perhaps,  but  most  unfortunate,  which  propagates  serious  mis- 
understanding. To  interpret  a  nation  of  four  hundred  million 
by  casual  examples  of  freakish  temperament  is,  of  course, 
absurd,  but  such  version  is  none  the  less  accountable  for  much 
of  our  confusion  in  the  study  of  this  great  and  wonderful  nation. 


CHAPTEE  II 

CHINA  IS   NOT   OVER-POPULATED 

A  country  cannot  be  likened  to  a  sponge,  capable  of  only 
absorbing  just  so  much  population  as  the  sponge  absorbs  liquid ; 
drinking  in  to  the  last  point  of  absorption,  beyond  which  it 
is  incapable  of  absorbing  another  drop.  Population  should 
rather  be  likened  to  water  flowing  in  a  river  bed,  conforming 
itself  to  the  shape  of  the  channel,  yet  at  the  same  time  widen- 
ing and  deepening  its  course  as  the  volume  and  current  of  the 
stream  requires.  Just  as  the  river  overflows  its  bed  and  rushes 
in  a  torrent  upon  plains  and  through  valleys  when  over- 
charged by  its  tributaries,  just  so  does  population  flow  out  be- 
yond its  original  confines  when  overpressed  by  the  volume  of 
its  sources. 

But  the  modern  genius  of  man,  as  his  culture  widens  his 
opportunities,  is  continually  inventing  dikes  and  levees  to  con- 
trol and  contain  the  volume  of  population  so  that  overflow, 
causing  famine  unless  relieved  by  invasion  to  other  lands,  be- 
comes less  frequent  with  each  generation. 

The  whole  population  of  today's  medieval  China  is  con- 
tained only  in  the  natural  river  bed  of  its  channels  and  hence 
appears  to  be  a  much  over-populated  country,  but  as  soon  as 
the  figurative  dikes  and  levees  of  Occidental  science  increases 
the  breadth  and  depth  of  those  beds  there  will  be  abundant 
channel  for  the  whole  volume  of  its  population.  Mere  per- 
square-mile  enumeration  proves  nothing  as  to  over-population, 
since  the  supporting  capacity  of  land  depends  entirely  upon  its 
kind,  nature  and  location.  The  United  States  have  only  about 
twenty  people  to  the  square  mile,  and  even  should  we  increase 
the  number  five  times  to  correspond  with  conditions  in  China, 

14 


China  is  Not  Over-populated  15 

we  would  not  be  even  over-populated  in  this  present  scientific 
day  of  increasing  food  supplies. 

So-called  Chinese  over-population  is  really  only  over-concen- 
tration of  population.  Vast  domains  of  farm  lands,  which 
communications  and  modern  methods  of  farming  would  render 
richly  productive  remain  entirely  unoccupied,  while  the  cities 
teem  with  underfed  millions.  As  soon  as  railroads  are  built 
the  cities  will  disgorge  their  surplus  population,  and  the  con- 
flicting currents  of  Chinese  economic  life  will  find  their  levels 
in  sufficiency  and  comfort.  In  illustration  of  this  and  also  to 
show  the  great  recuperative  powers  of  China,  take  the  floods 
of  the  Yangtse  which,  on  an  average  of  every  five  years,  over- 
flows a  great  stretch  of  its  banks  for  a  distance  of  fifty  miles 
on  either  side,  fertilizing  the  inundated  land  much  as  the 
Kile  does  Egypt,  but  causing  great  ruin  and  destruction.  Dur- 
ing the  floods  the  Chinese  crowd  the  cities  in  great  numbers, 
hardly  able  to  sustain  life,  but  after  the  flood  has  subsided, 
when  they  return  to  their  farming,  a  single  crop  puts  them  in 
a  state  of  comparative  ease. 

No.  China,  far  from  being  over-populated,  is  actually 
under-populated  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Occident. 

There  are  two  principal  reasons  for  crowding  the  cities. 
First:  The  Chinese  never  like  to  leave  the  place  where  they 
were  born.  Their  old  proverb  says:  "To  leave  home  is  to 
come  to  naught."  If  there  is  a  theft,  the  hue  and  cry  is,  "Stop 
stranger!"  Hence  millions  are  born,  have  their  being,  and 
die  in  the  radius  of  a  few  square  miles.  For  them  there  is 
hardly  any  greater  misfortune  than  to  be  a  stranger  in  a  strange 
city.  The  first  Chinese  emigrants  were  deported  by  kidnapping, 
although  eventually  the  large  earnings  abroad  caused  them  to 
remain  and  send  for  their  relatives  and  intimates,  as  was  par- 
ticularly the  case  in  the  rush  gold  period  of  California.  But 
even  with  the  offer  of  very  easy  work  and  generously  high  pay, 
but  comparatively  few  Chinese  willingly  leave  their  homes.  A 


16      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

half  loaf  with  family  and  friends  is  better  than  a  full  loaf 
abroad  with  strangers.  Thus  they  crowd  and  throng  the  cities, 
the  human  swarm  increasing  from  year  to  year,  generation 
after  generation,  regardless  of  their  health  and  welfare.  Kesi- 
dence  is  hard  to  obtain  in  China  and  not  readily  or  carelessly 
relinquished  when  once  established,  for  home  to  them  is  only 
where  their  great  ancestor  is  buried.  Answering  the  question, 
"Are  you  a  native  here?"  the  response  may  come,  "No!  We 
have  only  lived  here  two  generations."  Why  should  they  want 
to  leave  home  when  domicile  with  its  protection  and  the  con- 
venience of  ancestral  residence  is  so  difficult  to  acquire?  The 
easiest  solution  to  the  over-peopling  of  the  cities  is  government 
encouragement  of  emigration  from  the  heavily  to  the  less  popu- 
lated provinces. 

The  second  principal  reason  for  condensed  population  is 
the  lack  of  communication  and  means  of  transportation  through- 
out the  vast  extent  of  China.  The  farmers  can't  plant  where 
the  soil  is  at  all  remote  from  centers  of  population.  They 
with  all  other  Chinese  must  live  either  in  cities  or  on  rivers 
near  cities,  so  that  they  can  get  to  the  great  centers  of  popula- 
tion and  by  the  waterways  which  form  their  only  means  of 
transportation.  Five  miles  back  of  the  river,  no  matter  how 
fertile  the  soil  may  be,  but  few  inhabitants  can  be  found,  for 
what  is  the  value  of  a  harvest  which  cannot  be  taken  to  market  ? 
Everything  must  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  natives  until  rail- 
roads are  built,  since  coolie  labor,  no  matter  how  cheap,  is  too 
expensive  for  long  freight  transportation.  How  taunting  is 
the  lot  of  those  city  dwellers,  painfully  striving  for  their  pit- 
tance of  bread,  while  just  beyond  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach 
is  the  uncultivated  soil  of  virgin  fields  ready  to  bring  forth  an 
abundance  for  all.  I  have  watched  farmers  fertilizing  their 
growing  crops  with  human  excrement  diluted  with  water. 
Horrible  as  that  long  ago  discovery  was,  with  the  consequent 
elimination  thenceforth  of  salads  from  my  Chinese  bill  of  fare, 


China  is  Not  Over-populated  17 

this  method  of  soil  enrichment  was  a  necessary  expedient  to 
bring  those  much  overworked  patches  of  land  to  that  extreme 
degree  of  productivity  exacted  by  the  high  rental  of  urban 
property. 

Some  years  ago,  in  the  province  of  Shensi,  the  crops  were 
so  abundant  that  they  lay  rotting  on  the  ground,  but  in  the 
adjoining  province  of  Shansi  the  people  were  starving.  With 
the  increase  of  highways  and  railways  this  sad  and  ruinous 
condition  will  not,  of  course,  be  continued. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  that 
China  has  no  roads,  for  there  are  in  fact  thousands  of  miles 
of  excellent  narrow,  stone  paved  public  ways  which  have  well 
served  the  purpose  for  generations,  but  they  are  what  might 
be  called  independent  trunk  lines  with  insufficient  branches  to 
cover  the  whole  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  Chinese  take 
no  care  of  their  roads  when  once  constructed  any  more  than 
they  would  of  any  other  public  or  private  construction.  For 
the  Chinese  go  on  the  theory  that  when  anything  is  worn  out 
it  is  of  no  account,  and  in  a  country  where  labor  is  as  cheap 
as  it  is  in  China,  it  is  frequently  wiser  to  tear  down  and  build 
anew  from  the  old  materials  added  to  certain  new  parts  than 
it  is  to  continually  patch  and  mend.  In  the  matter  of  roads, 
everybody's  business  is  nobody's  business,  the  government  never 
having  had  a  well  organized  road  building  and  maintenance 
system.  In  some  provinces  the  wear  on  the  roads  grinds  them 
into  dust  which,  being  washed  away  by  the  rains,  leaves  the 
roads,  after  the  wear  of  countless  years,  lowways  rather  than 
highways,  which  during  the  rains  become  impassable  river  beds. 
To  add  to  the  ruin  and  devastation  of  the  roads,  the  farmers 
have  been  permitted  by  custom  to  dig  in  the  roads  after  a  heavy 
rain,  in  order  to  restore  to  their  high  fields  on  either  side  of  the 
highways  the  soil  which  has  been  washed  from  them.  Farm  earth 
is  valuable  in  China,  and  since  nature  has  taken  it  from  him 
why  shouldn't  the  farmer  restore  it  to  where  it  was  originally 


18      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

washed,  by  digging  out  the  roadway,  is  the  method  of  reasoning 
to  which  no  semblance  of  objection  is  interposed.  So  the 
farmers,  replenishing  their  fields  from  the  roads,  together  with 
the  wear  of  travel  and  the  action  of  the  wind  and  the  rains, 
have  converted  the  highways  into  ditches  and  gullies,  some- 
times resembling  miniature  canons. 

But  even  with  poor  roads,  primitive  methods  of  farming 
and  a  large  waste  of  energy  from  crude  methods,  China  is  not 
really  so  bad  off.  It  is  not  so  much  a  lack  of  food  that  makes 
China  appear  poverty  stricken  as  it  is  the  lack  of  fuel  and  a 
scarcity  of  water,  for  the  Chinese  consider  that  it  is  unhealthful 
to  bathe  in  cold  water.  Fuel  is  very  expensive,  and  the  water 
wells  are  deep  and  quickly  drained  so  that  hot  water  is  a  com- 
bination of  luxuries,  whereas  in  Japan,  with  its  abundance  of 
mountain  brooks  and  fuel,  it  is  a  plentiful  and  common  neces- 
sity. Thus  the  poorer  classes,  for  lack  of  hot  water  to  bathe  in, 
look  very  soiled  and  begrimed,  and  since  dirt  with  us  is  asso- 
ciated with  hunger  and  squalor,  many  a  traveler  goes  home 
with  dreadful  tales  of  famine  when,  in  most  cases,  it  is  merely 
a  case  of  unwashed  faces.  Eeally,  the  poor  in  certain  parts  of 
China  fare  as  well  as  the  poor  of  London  in  winter.  For 
China  is  a  land  of  excellent  table  produce  and  good  cooks. 
The  packing  of  the  cities  has  at  least  the  one  advantage :  provid- 
ing the  poor  with  thoroughly  cooked  food  in  an  appetizing, 
wholesome  way  at  a  minimum  cost.  For  fuel,  as  I  have  before 
remarked,  is  very  scarce  in  China,  owing  to  the  despoilment  of 
their  forests  to  supply  the  building  and  fuel  demands  of  the 
untold  generations  that  have  passed.  This  wood  poverty  is 
apparent  in  all  parts  of  China.  Every  chip  and  twig  or  root 
and  shaving  is  made  use  of.  In  the  north  of  China  so  saving 
are  they  of  their  fuel  that  the  family  cook  stove  is  made  to 
heat  the  platform  used  as  a  bed  by  means  of  a  flue  built  through 
it.  I  was  surprised  when  visiting  the  ruins  of  the  Tartar  City 
at  Nankin,  shortly  after  the  Anti-Manchu  Eevolution,  to  find 


China  is  Not  Over-populated  19 

that  the  walls  of  masonry  had  been  pulled  down  at  great  labor 
to  obtain  here  and  there  the  few  pieces  of  wood  which  were  a 
part  of  the  construction.  Traveling  through  China  one  is  im- 
pressed with  the  scarcity  of  trees  in  districts  which,  at  one  time, 
must  have  been  covered  with  forests.  But  now  even  the  few 
pine  cones  which  fall  from  the  diminutive  trees  that  shade  the 
small  ancestral  cemeteries  are  looked  on  as  a  part  of  the  family 
treasure  and  eagerly  picked  up,  one  by  one,  as  their  growth 
is  carefully  followed. 

But  all  this  belongs  to  the  Old  China,  living  from  hand  to 
mouth  as  it  did  perhaps  a  thousand  years  before  the  birth 
of  Christ.  Even  under  those  dead  conditions  China's  lot  has 
not  been  intolerable.  But  now!  The  New  China  with  an  in- 
heritance which  equals  one-tenth  of  the  whole  value  of  our 
planet  today !  How  wonderful  the  real  estimate  of  these  actual 
riches !  The  fabled  fancies  of  our  childhood  and  the  calculated 
estimates  of  our  practical  life  fail  in  enabling  us  to  grasp  the 
unprecedented  value  of  the  hoarded  wealth  concealed  beneath 
these  rugged  mountains  and  far-reaching  plains.  Vast  treasures 
of  gold  and  silver — ncjijain£s,_oJL£Oppej,  especially  in  Yunnan 
and  Kweichau,  zinc,  coal  and  iron,  abundant  antimony  in 
Ilunnan  and  Kwangsi  and  mercury  in  Kweichau  still  intact  and 
untouched,  besides  fields  and  depths  of  precious  and  semi- 
precious stones — all  these  natural  riches  are  the  heritage  of 
modern  China.  How  immense  the  value  of  these  accumulated 
stores  of  treasure,  awaiting  man's  service  during  the  ages,  and 
all  conserved  for  the  enjoyment  of  these  generations  of  the 
modern  world.  All  the  gold  and  silver,  all  the  enormous  aggre- 
gate of  all  the  useful  metals  taken  from  the  mines  of  America 
from  the  time  of  its  discovery  to  the  present  day,  would  only 
represent  in  part  the  great  ultimate  accessible  mineral  wealth 
of  China.  The  next  great  gold  discovery  will  be  in  China, 
without,  however,  the  usual  rush  to  the  new  mines,  for  the 
Chinese  are  determined  to  proceed  more  orderly  and  methodically 


20      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

in  the  unearthing  of  their  treasure  than  has  any  other  nation 
before  it,  for  they  have  an  abundance  of  good  labor  and  can 
profit  by  the  experience  so  costly  to  other  nations.  Other  fields 
of  nature's  treasures  will  also  be  discovered,  but  far  richer  than 
mere  gold  and  diamonds  will  be  the  great  reward  attending 
the  industrial  development  favored  by  the  abundance  of  coal 
and  iron. 

But  what  is  our  authority  for  believing  that  China  is  so 
wonderfully  mineralized?  To  give  even  a  general  indication 
of  the  mineral  deposits  of  China  as  now  understood  and  blocked 
out  would  require  several  volumes,  so  for  our  present  purpose 
it  may  be  sufficient  to  state  that  not  only  has  China  by  reason 
of  the  immensity  of  its  territory  a  large  pro  rata  share  of  the 
average  mining  wealth  of  the  world,  but  it  is  in  certain 
provinces  as  highly  mineralized  as  Mexico.  In  west  China 
coolies  make  their  day's  good  wage  and  occasionally  a  rich 
find  by  sifting  out  from  the  dirt  of  the  river  beds  gold  that 
has  been  washed  down  from  mountains  hundreds  of  miles  away. 
As  I  write,  a  grate  fire  is  gleaming  with  a  clean  anthracite, 
brought  from  mines  whose  known  volume  of  high  grade  coal 
is  enough  to  supply  the  world  indefinitely  and  accessible  to  iron 
mines  which  likewise  have  a  relatively  inexhaustible  amount  of 
that  metal.  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  province  of  Shensi 
alone  there  are  several  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  coal 
and  iron.  The  Chinese,  because  of  the  Feng  Sui  superstition — 
to  be  discussed  in  a  following  chapter — never  dug  in  the  ground 
deeply,  limiting  themselves  to  mere  surface  scratching  for  the 
beautiful  marbles  and  semi-precious  stones  such  as  jade  and 
amethyst,  agate  and  cornelian,  in  which  China  abounds,  but 
even  with  such  superficial  search  the  great  rich  underlying 
veins  and  strata  were  apparent. 

With  cheap  and  reliable  labor  everywhere  in  China,  it  will 
not  be  long  before  the  mineral  exploitation  is  well  under  way, 
and  the  question  of  caring  for  the  increasing  population  will 


China  is  Not  Over-populated  21 

then  be  solved.  Although  labor  conditions  are  excellent,  indus- 
trial organization  among  the  Chinese  is  undergoing  some  ex- 
perimental disappointments.  The  following  may  serve  as  an 
illustration:  At  Tansanhwan,  below  Hankow,  a  Swiss  had 
lost  a  fortune  in  a  colliery  and  it  finally  passed  into  the  hands 
of  a  Frenchman  who,  having  better  luck  with  its  drainage,  was 
able  to  produce  coal  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  ton  which  he 
sold  for  four  dollars.  The  owner  was  making  money  so  fast 
that  the  Hupeh  government,  under  the  Manchus,  bought  him 
out  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  taels,  and  after  running 
it  very  successfully  for  six  weeks,  by  inattention  to  the  drain- 
age allowed  the  mine  to  be  flooded,  drowning  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  and  putting  the  mine  back  to  where  it  was 
before  taken  over  by  its  former  owner. 

The  fault  of  Chinese  organization  is  that  there  isn't  any 
organization  at  all,  not  because  every  Chinese  wants  to  have 
his  own  way,  but  it  is  because  there  is  not  a  complete  comple- 
ment of  service.  For  example,  in  the  above  illustration,  the 
disaster  was  caused  by  a  mdkee  learnie  pidgin  boy,  as  an  appren- 
tice is  called  in  pidgin  English,  being  left  in  charge  with  an 
inadequate  idea  of  his  duty.  What  the  Chinese  need  is  more 
direction.  There  are  never  enough  foremen  as  with  us.  They 
give  splendid  results  if  properly  directed,  and  the  commonest 
coolie  labor  can  be  absolutely  depended  upon  if  taught  the 
separate  duties  under  one  responsible  chief.  The  hard  thing 
in  China  is  to  find  out  who  is  responsible.  For  example:  I 
happened  to  be  one  of  the  first  passengers  on  the  through 
express  between  Tientsin  and  Pukow.  The  management  and 
control  of  this  railroad  are  entirely  Chinese,  and  I  was  pleased 
to  note  in  what  apparently  good  working  order  everything  was. 
The  spick  and  span  engine  had  been  groomed  until  it  shone 
like  a  new  dollar.  In  the  engine  cab  was  the  young  engineer 
with  two  firemen,  none  of  the  three  probably  ever  having  seen 
an  engine  two  years  before.  The  coaches  were  clean  and  im- 


22      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

maculate,  the  windows  of  the  observatory  car  being  continually 
polished  by  a  porter  especially  for  that  service.  The  sleeping 
cars,  although  suffering  the  disadvantage  of  being  divided  into 
sections  of  four  berths  each,  were  well  equipped  and  attended. 
In  the  dining  cars  a  meal  was  served  for  fifty  cents  which 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  best  French  restaurants.  All 
seemed  to  be  in  perfect  order  to  obtain  safety  and  comfort  on 
the  long  twenty-seven  hour  journey.  We  congratulated  our- 
selves upon  the  prospect  of  that  still  rare  desideratum  in  China 
— a  comfortable  voyage.  Everything  ran  along  smoothly  for 
the  first  hour  or  so,  when  a  noticeable  lowering  of  the  ther- 
mometer called  forth  frequent  ringing  of  the  bells  by  the 
chilled  passengers,  with  requests  of  the  porters  to  kindly  turn 
on  the  heat.  The  order  was  seemingly  promptly  complied  with 
and  the  passengers  complacently  gathered  their  rugs  around 
them  to  wait  for  the  longed  for  warmth,  but  to  their  ultimate 
dismay  they  found  the  cars  growing  colder  and  colder.  More 
bells,  more  expostulations  with  more  apparent  obedience  on  the 
part  of  the  porters,  but  still  the  thermometer  continued  to 
fall.  Finally  it  was  discovered  that  the  steam  heating  pipes 
were  burst  and  the  long  journey  had  to  be  accomplished  in 
the  bitter  cold,  to  the  hardship  of  all.  There  was  no  one 
to  whom  we  could  appeal ;  no  chef  de  train,  no  one  who  had 
authority  to  remedy  that  simple  situation  which  could  have  been 
corrected  by  ten  minutes'  work  on  the  part  of  any  mechanic. 
Someone  offered  to  do  the  work  if  he  were  furnished  the  tools, 
but  there  was  no  authority  for  such  action.  The  engineer's 
duty  in  that  regard  ended  in  turning  on  the  steam,  but  un- 
fortunately no  one  had  been  instructed  to  drain  the  pipes 
after  the  run  was  made,  so  that  one  had  frozen  and  burst  and 
no  one  had  authority  to  bother  with  them  until  the  end  of  the 
voyage  was  reached.  A  chef  de  train  would  have  immediately 
disposed  of  the  matter. 

I  am  not  of  those  who  believe  that  the  Chinese  are  so  de- 


China  is  Not  Over-populated  23 

sirous  of  having  their  own  way  that  they  will  never  submit  to 
the  discipline  of  an  organization  nor  of  those  who  cite  examples 
in  the  army  where  even  decapitation  for  minor  offenses  will 
not  promote  discipline  as  they  claim,  further  alleging  that 
the  Chinese  is  a  great  gambler  and  will  even  gamble  with  his 
life  to  have  his  own  way. 

I  am  convinced  that  the  Chinese  within  the  perspective  of 
half  a  generation,  both  by  the  perfection  of  their  industrial 
and  commercial  organizations,  as  well  as  by  the  excellence  of 
their  army  and  navy,  will  astonish  the  world  by  their  adhesion 
and  fidelity  under  authoritative  leadership.  Today  filial  and 
ancestral  reverence  make  up  the  elementary  obligation  of  the 
Chinese  in  their  simple  form  of  patriarchal  government,  but 
taking  on  as  they  are  the  responsibilities  of  a  modern  people, 
they  will  quickly  respond  to  the  new  exactions  made  of  them. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  PASSING   OF   FENG   SUI 

Feng  Sui  has  been  the  winged  dragon-monster  which, 
mounted  for  centuries  in  guard  upon  the  hidden  treasures  of 
China,  has  conserved  them  for  the  enrichment  of  the  present 
generations.  There  is  always  a  little  good  in  even  the  greatest 
evil,  and  the  nonsensical  superstition  of  Feng  Sui,  which  has 
ruled  China  for  a  thousand  years  and  more,  must  be  in  part 
credited  with  having  saved  the  great  mineral  wealth  of  its 
provinces  from  the  rapacious  governing  classes  of  the  past. 

Feng  Sui  is  the  doctrine  of  the  wind  and  water,  requiring 
among  other  exactions  that  the  dead  shall  be  buried  in  certain 
favorable  spots  so  that  their  spiritual  nature  shall  be  in  accord 
with  the  natural  phenomena. 

High  and  low  alike  have  some  regard  for  this  strange  super- 
stition, its  greatest  tribute  being  the  wonderful  tombs  of  the 
Mings  for  the  most  part  planted  upon  the  distant  slopes  of 
the  lonely  and  isolated  mountains  of  North  China. 

The  Chinese,  like  all  other  civilized  people,  cherish  the 
bodies  of  their  dead,  but  burial  to  them  was  more  than  a  mere 
indication  of  love  and  respect,  for  the  grave  became  their  altar 
of  ancestral  worship  and  their  nearest  approach  to  the  un- 
fathomable mysteries  that  lay  beyond. 

Feng  Sui  is  not  a  religion — it  is  a  mere  superstition  formed 
in  the  disordered  imagination  by  a  process  similar  to  that 
which  made  some  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors  believe  in 
witches  and  hang  innocent  old  women  for  being  possessed  of 
evil  spirits.  They  laugh  about  it  at  times,  sometimes  make 
use  of  it  to  drive  a  sharp  bargain  in  selling  land  for  public 
uses,  sometimes  justify  it  as  an  old  fabled  tradition  which 
after  all  does  no  harm.  Feng  Sui  teaches  us  one  thing, 
however,  that  the  Chinese,  by  their  continuance  of  this  super- 
stition, are  a  much  more  religiously  natured  people  than  is 

24 


The  Passing  of  Feng  Sui  25 

generally  believed.  For  the  traveler  in  China  is  particularly 
struck  with  the  absence  of  places  of  worship,  their  temples, 
such  as  they  are,  generally  having  an  abandoned  and  neglected 
appearance  and  but  little  frequented  by  worshipers,  and  there 
is  but  small  indication  of  the  nature  of  devotions  or  whether 
they  be  Taoist,  Buddhist  or  Confucian.  The  Chinese  con- 
sistently accept  any  or  all  three  of  these  religions.  The  literate 
Chinese  scoffs  at  all  except  the  philosophy  of  Confucius,  but 
frequently  when  troubles  beset  him  he  betakes  himself  to  the 
half-ruined  Taoist  or  Buddhist  temple  for  devotional  comfort. 
No  one  should  be  surprised  with  the  adhesion  of  Chinese  to 
more  than  one  religion,  for  we  ourselves  of  the  Christian  faith 
believe  not  only  in  the  teaching  of  the  Nazarene,  but  also  in 
the  Jewish  faith  up  to  the  time  of  Christ,  thus  from  the  Chinese 
standpoint  embracing  two  religions. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  on  my  last  sojourn  in  China  that 
the  large  revival  of  the  Buddhist  religion  which  I  recently 
observed  in  all  parts  of  Japan,  manifested  in  the  building  of 
costly  new  temples  and  the  careful  repair  of  the  old  has  not 
reached  into  China,  which  will,  however,  be  the  case  if  Nipponese 
statecraft  in  its  1915  exactions  in  China  is  able  to  include  in 
its  aggression  the  influence  of  Japanese  Buddhist  priests. 

The  temples  of  China  are  in  a  most  dilapidated  shape,  and 
in  a  recent  tour  from  Peking  to  Canton  through  the  principal 
cities,  I  failed  to  find  any  new  religious  edifices  except  an 
occasional  small  temple  such  as  stands  by  the  Bubbling  Well 
in  Shanghai.  The  old  city  temples,  crowded  as  they  are 
among  the  surrounding  structures,  are  disagreeable  of  approach 
because  of  the  waiting  beggars,  disfigured  by  the  most  dread- 
ful contagious  diseases,  clad  in  filthy  rags  and  polluting  the 
air  with  their  sad  condition,  have  nothing  about  them  to  sug- 
gest the  exaltation  of  worship.  Tawdry  painted  images  be- 
grimed and  soot  laden  by  the  choking  clouds  of  cheap,  foul 
incense,  struggling  against  the  obscured  light  of  the  roof  open- 


26      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

ings,  are  the  principal  inanimate  objects  in  the  throng  of 
holiday  worshipers  who  half-heartedly  burn  their  joss  paper 
in  smoking  incense  burners,  their  figures  almost  seeming  a  part 
of  the  infernal  regions. 

Feng  Sui  superstition,  with  its  approach  to  nature  wor- 
ship, amid  grass  grown  grave  mounds  and  the  overhanging  ever- 
greens, is  uplifting  compared  with  the  reeking  surroundings  of 
the  multitude  as  they  crowd  about  the,  to  us,  meaningless 
images  of  the  city  temples. 

The  dainty  Japanese  Shinto  temple,  the  spacious  area  of 
the  Mussulman's  mosque  with  its  fountains  of  ablution,  elevate, 
and  even  the  dingy  Hindu  temple  suggests  some  thought  of 
the  divine,  but  in  the  squalor  and  contamination  of  Chinese 
public  worship  is  only  to  be  found  a  forlorn  confession  of  the 
power  of  hell. 

Not  frequently  will  the  traveler,  however,  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  witnessing  temple  worship  as  described,  for  the 
temples  are  open  only  on  set  holiday  occasions  in  all  their 
extent,  although  the  casual  worship  at  single  shrines  is  a  matter 
of  daily  observation.  The  Chinese  have  ordinarily  no  congre- 
gation worship  as  with  us.  Each  worshiper  follows  his  own 
wish  in  the  matter  of  attendance  and  prayer.  There  is  no 
state  religion  which  actually  corresponds  to  that  of,  say,  Spain. 
All  are  free  to  follow  whatever  creed  they  desire.  A  move- 
ment is  now  on  foot  among  the  Christian  Chinese  to  evangelize 
their  people  into  a  Christian  state  religion,  a  tremendous  task 
but  which,  if  only  in  a  very  small  part  accomplished,  will  do 
everything  for  the  uplift  of  China. 

Feng  Sui  received  its  first  blow  in  the  building  of  the 
railroads  when  the  graves  with  their  Feng  Sui  were  planted  else- 
where as  they  were  taken  up  on  the  right  of  way.  For  the 
graves  of  the  Chinese  are  not  planted  in  communal  cemeteries 
as  with  us.  Each  family  selects  such  a  parcel  of  land  as  may 
be  indicated  to  them  by  the  necromancers  as  favorable,  accord- 


The  Passing  of  Feng  Sui 27 

ing  to  the  doctrine  of  their  superstition  and,  acquiring  title  by 
purchase,  enter  into  its  possession  for  perpetuity.  The  graves 
are  heaped  up  into  high  mounds,  that  of  the  ancestor  being 
much  larger  than  those  of  his  descendants.  Nearby  and  partly 
surrounding  the  graves  a  crescent  shaped  mound  is  raised. 
This  is  to  protect  the  spirits  of  the  dead  from  the  ghouls  and 
evil  ghosts  which  might  otherwise  disturb  them.  A  grove  of 
pine  trees,  when  circumstances  permit,  is  planted  as  an  in- 
closure  around  the  whole  group  of  graves.  This  picture,  as  I 
have  attempted  to  show  it,  is  common  in  all  parts  of  China. 
For  many  miles  from  any  village  graves  thickly  dot  the  land- 
scape, the  cultivation  of  the  fields  coming  up  to  their  very 
base.  Once  every  year  the  family  gather  at  these  graves  to 
keep  the  mounds  raised  and  perform  acts  of  reverence.  As 
one  passes  along  by  rail  through  some  of  the  provinces,  mounds 
of  earth  and  gravel,  formed  for  the  convenience  of  farmers  and 
laborers  for  use  in  case  of  inundation  from  the  rivers,  are 
sometimes  mistaken  even  by  the  long  residents  for  graves,  for 
graves  are  so  numerous  in  China  that  one  expects  to  find  them 
anywhere,  there  hardly  being  any  spot  along  routes  of  travel 
for  thousands  of  miles  where  one  or  more  are  not  visible. 

With  the  beginning  of  Feng  Sui  decline  it  will  rapidly  die 
away,  its  influence  being  now  very  largely  lost  in  the  matter 
of  building  construction.  Formerly  if  one  wanted  to  construct 
a  building  he  had  first  to  consult  with  his  neighbors  in  con- 
junction with  the  necromancers  to  discover  if  the  ethereal  spirits, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  lurking  around  for  a  proper  wind 
from  a  certain  direction  to  bear  them  on  in  their  good  or  evil 
work,  would  be  affected  by  the  obstacles  of  the  construction. 
For  example:  The  construction  of  a  chimney  might  turn 
aside  a  good  spirit  from  his  favorite  haunt,  and  the  building 
of  windows  in  certain  positions  might  prove  an  invitation  for 
evil  spirits  to  pass  through  into  a  new  field  of  visitation. 

The  necromancers  gave  themselves  up  seriously  to  the  study  of 


28      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

mysticism,  and  much  of  the  stability  of  the  institution  of  Feng 
Sui  is  undoubtedly  due  to  these  illiterate  men  who  superstitious 
and  ignorant  themselves  apparently  believed  earnestly  in  their 
vocation  from  which  they  derived  but  a  scant  subsistence.  The 
decisions  of  the  necromancers  were  followed  with  great  atten- 
tion, even  to  the  placing  of  screens  before  dwellings  made  of 
the  same  solid  material  as  the  buildings  themselves  and  so 
arranged  that  the  wind  could  not  blow  directly  into  the  dwelling. 
Sometimes  looking  glasses  were  set  in  such  way  that  the  evil 
spirit,  in  trying  to  enter  the  dwelling,  would  see  his  own  re- 
flection which  was  presumed  to  be  so  ugly  that  he  would  hasten 
away  in  great  fear  of  his  own  image. 

Ill-omened  ghosts  were  always  supposed  to  have  a  great 
affinity  for  dark  places  and  hence  the  old  Chinese  custom  arose, 
particularly  prevalent  in  Central  China,  of  screaming  or  shriek- 
ing upon  entering  any  dark  street  in  order  to  overcome  the 
spirit  by  fear. 

One  of  the  most  serious  effects  of  the  burial  catalogue  of 
Feng  Sui  was  the  suspension  and  delay  in  the  interment  of  the 
dead  until  a  favorable  time  and  place  had  been  decided  upon 
by  the  necromancers  for  the  final  disposition  of  the  remains. 
The  corpses  of  the  moneyed  classes  were  held  in  the  guilds, 
temples  or  charnel  houses.  Those  of  the  poorer  classes  were 
allowed  to  remain  along  the  outside  of  the  walls  of  the  city 
where  they  were  generally  left  until  only  the  bones  remained. 
Many  thousands  of  bodies  were  thus  allowed  to  go  unburied  for 
months  and  even  years  in  utter  disregard  of  the  contagion  of 
which  they  were  a  constant  menace.  Cases  were  common  where 
the  burial  had  been  so  long  delayed  that  the  coffins,  falling 
to  pieces  from  age,  would  disclose  whatever  was  left  of  the 
gruesome  remains.  But  sanitary  provisions  are  now  being  pro- 
mulgated against  this  practice. 

Interesting  indeed  would  prove  a  collection  of  the  stories 
of  foreigners  who  have  encountered  difficulties  in  putting  up 


The  Passing  of  Feng  Sui  29 

buildings  which  were  not  in  accord  with  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  necromancers.  I  will  indulge  in  telling  of  the 
instance  of  an  American  in  Szechuan  Province,  who,  not  having 
even  heard  of  Feng  Sui,  although  a  resident  of  China  for  many 
years,  let  a  contract  for  a  large  building.  After  the  building 
was  almost  up  the  property  holders  of  that  vicinity  interposed 
a  strong  objection  against  its  completion,  saying  the  necro- 
mancers declared  that  Sui  was  on  that  side  of  the  street  where 
the  new  building  was  in  progress  of  construction  and  that  con- 
sequently there  would  be  more  deaths  there  than  on  the  other 
during  the  ensuing  year.  The  necromancers  in  that  part  of 
Szechuan  Province  were  mostly  Taoists  who,  as  elsewhere,  prac- 
ticed their  black  art  as  the  Chinese  practice  medicine,  merely 
hanging  out  their  sign  and  learning  their  profession  by  the 
daily  experience  they  acquired  and  evidently  were  lacking  in 
adroitness  in  making  their  declaration  positive  beyond  the 
power  of  modification,  for  the  following  year  there  were  more 
deaths  on  the  opposite  side,  Sui  having  gone  to  the  other  side 
of  the  street.  Hence  the  natives  declared  that  the  foreigner's 
building  favored  rather  than  disturbed  the  Feng  Sui  of  its 
neighbors,  and  he  was  looked  upon  with  great  favor  ever  after. 
There  is  no  question,  as  I  have  before  indicated,  of  not  only 
the  rapid  passing  of  Feng  Sui,  but  of  all  superstitions  as  well. 
The  Revolution  did  wonders  in  changing  the  old  order  of 
things.  Temple  practices  and  feast  days  are  everywhere  being 
abandoned.  Here  is  an  interesting  example  of  the  modern  trend : 
Ever  since  the  repopulation  of  Szechuan  Province,  that  province 
being  almost  entirely  depopulated  under  the  misrule  of  the 
Manchus  in  the  early  part  of  their  dynasty,  so  that  two  cen- 
turies and  a  half  ago  it  only  numbered  a  quarter  of  a  million 
inhabitants  whereas  it  now  has  a  population  of  seventy  million, 
there  has  been  revered  in  Che-Suen,  a  city  of  one  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  a  ten  foot  high  image,  probably  con- 
structed from  models  brought  from  India.  Worship  at  the 


30      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

shrine  of  this  image  was  supposed  to  be  so  efficacious  that  thou- 
sands came  for  the  yearly  feast  in  the  hope  of  being  cured,  to 
the  direct  profit  of  the  town  merchants  and  priests. 

A  medical  missionary  at  that  city  prepared  himself  with 
large  quantities  of  boracic  acid,  and  on  the  occasion  of  these 
feasts  treated  with  the  most  happy  results  many  of  the  afflicted 
pilgrims  as  they  came  to  the  shrine. 

The  year  after  the  Revolution,  when  the  merchants  and 
priests  asked  permission  of  the  Shen  to  hold  the  annual  feast, 
the  Shen,  acting  undoubtedly  upon  orders  received  from  his 
superiors,  said: 

"No!  For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  this  annual  feast 
has  been  given  to  that  image,  but  he  shall  have  no  more.  You 
all  know  that  he  never  cured  anyone  anyhow,  for  the  American 
doctor  has  really  effected  the  cures  So,  go  you  your  way  with 
your  humbug !  There  will  be  no  feast." 

The  conduct  of  the  priests  and  merchants  thereafter  showed 
a  very  common  and  praiseworthy  Chinese  characteristic.  In- 
stead of  complaining  against  the  prohibition  of  a  custom 
recognized  for  two  and  a  half  centuries  seriously  affecting  their 
gaining  a  livelihood,  they  accepted  the  decision  as  final  instead 
of  appealing  to  higher  authority  and  conformed  themselves 
accordingly. 

There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  foreigners  to  exaggerate 
the  prevalence  of  superstition  and  particularly  Feng  Sui.  There 
is  even  or  has  been  a  tendency  to  exaggerate  Feng  Sui  by  the 
anti-foreign  Chinese  themselves,  who  after  the  Boxer  outbreak 
sometimes  invoked  that  ancient  custom  merely  as  a  part  of  their 
Boxer  political  propaganda. 

After  all  we  can't  be  harsh  in  our  criticism  of  Chinese 
superstitions,  for  the  Salem  witchcraft  barbarities  are  still 
fresh  on  the  pages  of  history,  and  I  remember  very  well  as  a 
small  boy  how  we  looked  with  awe  on  a  tall  man  armed  with 
a  pronged  divining  rod  who  was  held  to  be  of  assistance  in 
discovering  the  most  favorable  spots  for  digging  wells. 


Pagoda  anchorage,   Foorjion'. 
Surface  graves  near  Woosung. 


Rice  junk. 
Prayer  wheel,  Peking. 


CHAPTER  IV 

EARLY   MARRIAGES    AND    SECONDARY    WIVES 

A  large  proportion  of  marriages  among  the  poorer  classes 
is  brought  about  by  the  mother  of  the  husband  in  order  to 
obtain  the  services  of  a  daughter-in-law,  the  bride  being  really 
married  to  a  family  rather  than  only  to  her  husband  and  be- 
coming thus  an  additional  child  of  the  family.  The  boys  are 
frequently  married  at  the  age  of  twelve  to  women  half  again 
their  age.  Our  silly  joke  against  the  mother-in-law  is  made 
sillier  still  against  the  hard  working  daughter-in-law  by  the 
Chinese  when  they  make  the  mother  in  a  jest  say  to  the 
daughter-in-law:  "Come!  Thy  husband  is  wearied  with  his 
toys.  Take  him  and  put  him  to  bed !" 

The  only  justification  for  these  extreme  marriages  for  con- 
venience is  that  sometimes  a  wild  boy  may  eventually  become 
a  substantial  man  by  having,  as  it  were,  two  mothers  interested 
in  his  good  conduct  rather  than  one.  We  Americans,  with  our 
chaos  of  marital  conditions  resulting  from  overindulgent  divorce 
laws  recklessly  applied,  can  hardly  afford  to  criticise  the 
Chinese  in  their  domestic  relations,  for  as  a  rule  they  are 
felicitous  and  free  from  the  broken  pledges  of  the  Occidental 
divorce  courts. 

The  mother  of  a  son  among  the  poorer  classes  is  anxious 
to  have  her  son  marry  as  early  as  possible  a  fully  matured 
young  woman  in  order  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  her  services,  and 
the  prospective  daughter-in-law  is  anxious  to  marry  the  boy 
who  has  the  kindest  mother  so  that  her  lot  in  life  may  not  be 
made  onerous  and  miserable.  The  prospective  boy  husband  is 
generally  too  young  to  pay  much  attention  to  his  matrimonial 
venture  and  accepts  his  bride  as  selected  by  his  mother  with 

31 


32      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

gracious  apathy.  This  custom  of  marriage  is  frequently  a  great 
hardship  on  the  girl  transient  member  of  the  family,  who  upon 
her  marriage  will  be  entirely  lost  as  an  economic  factor  in 
the  family.  Socially,  however,  she  keeps  up  her  relations  with 
her  family  on  those  rare  visits  allowed  away  from  the  drudgery 
of  her  mother-in-law's  household.  It  is  only  on  these  visits 
that  the  poor  creature  really  has  any  respite  from  her  daily 
routine  of  domestic  labor  in  the  communistic  family  of  her 
adoption. 

Such  marriages  take  from  the  wife  the  two  most  inherent 
rights  of  her  existence — affection  and  an  independent  home 
of  her  own.  The  husband  is  deprived  of  the  element  of  affec- 
tion in  such  marriages  and  frequently  makes  up  for  it  when  he 
can  afford  to  do  so  by  taking  a  secondary  wife  who,  although 
she  has  no  actual  legal  status,  cannot  be  discarded  unless 
proper  provision  is  made  for  her. 

Among  all  classes  the  Chinese  first  wife,  Kit-fat,  is  selected 
by  the  parents  of  the  husband.  This  fact,  together  with  the 
custom  of  ancestral  worship,  is  largely  responsible  for  the 
institution  of  secondary  wives  which  strangely  enough,  however, 
does  not  seem  to  destroy  the  recognized  sense  of  sex  equality 
strongly  prevailing  among  the  Chinese. 

The  existence  of  secondary  wives  in  the  household  of  all 
wealthy  Chinese  or  in  separate  houses  if  fortune  permits  such 
misfortune,  is  a  matter  of  common  information,  but  owing 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  exceedingly  bad  form  to  speak  to  a  Chinese 
on  this  subject  or  on  any  other  relating  to  the  female  members 
of  the  family,  first-hand  information  of  such  and  such  a  Chinese 
in  this  regard  is  exceedingly  scant.  There  is  not  now,  however, 
nor  will  there  probably  be  for  a  generation  or  so  yet  to  come, 
any  law  passed  making  bigamy  and  polygamy  an  offense  as 
with  us.  Many  of  the  political  leaders  of  the  present  new 
order  of  things  have  secondary  wives  and  are  realizing  too 
late  that  bigamous  relations  are  a  serious  hindrance  to  modern 


Early  Marriages  and  Secondary  Wives  33 

progress.  All  thinking  Chinese  are  united,  I  am  sure,  upon 
the  abolition  of  the  custom,  and  it  will  gradually  be  abandoned 
upon  the  grounds  of  common  propriety  and  the  Kit-fat  will  reign 
supreme. 

Rarely  does  the  question  of  secondary  wives  come  up  in 
the  matter  of  church  work  among  the  missionaries  because 
Christian  converts  come  generally  from  a  class  who  cannot 
ordinarily  afford  more  than  one  wife.  But  such  cases  as  do 
arise  are  about  as  the  following: 

A  Chinese,  the  owner  of  a  small  farm,  joined  with  his  wife 
the  Methodist  Mission  Church  in  one  of  the  cities  of  Szechuan 
Province.  At  the  time  the  missionary  took  it  for  granted  that 
the  wife  presented  was  his  only  wife.  Considerable  time  elapsed 
when  the  missionary  discovered  that  the  convert  had  two  wives, 
the  one  who  had  joined  the  church  with  him  being  only  his 
secondary  wife,  the  principal  wife  living  apart  from  her  hus- 
band but  in  the  same  neighborhood. 

Upon  being  questioned  the  convert  expressed  some  sur- 
prise that  such  a  small  detail  should  be  made  a  matter  of 
church  inquiry,  stating  that  he,  having  married  his  first  wife 
in  boyhood  in  conformance  with  his  father's  wish,  had  had  no 
male  issue  by  her  and  consequently  married  his  second  wife 
also  upon  his  father's  request,  he  wishing  to  gratify  his  desire 
for  descendants. 

The  missionary  finally  adjusted  the  matter  by  reducing  the 
convert  and  his  secondary  wife  from  full  membership  to  proba- 
tion. 

As  I  have  suggested  the  Chinese  justify  the  secondary  wife 
custom  upon  the  natural  right  of  a  man  to  become  an  ancestor, 
and  instances  are  not  infrequent  where  the  sonless  Kit-fat 
will  insist  upon  her  husband's  taking  a  secondary  wife  in  the 
hopes  of  obtaining  a  male  descendant  who  becomes  by  adoption 
the  son  of  the  Kit-fat.  In  this  contention  he  is  supported  by 
many  of  our  State  laws  making  impotency  a  ground  for  absolute 


34      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

divorce.  The  Chinese  look  upon  divorce  with  abhorrence.  To 
them  a  divorce  is  immoral  because  it  allows  the  parties  to 
promiscuously  marry,  which  is  obnoxious  to  the  Chinese  standard 
of  ethics. 

Monogamy  is  the  rule  and  polygamy  modified  as  above 
narrated  is  only  the  extreme  exception  of  the  wealthy,  and 
eventually  the  influence  of  the  Chinese  girls  now  being  so 
generally  educated  in  mission  schools  will  correct  this  evil,  for 
Chinese  women,  vigorous  minded  yet  kindly  persuasive,  will 
themselves,  throwing  the  veil  of  compassion  over  the  secondary 
wife,  find  the  way  to  dismiss  her  from  the  stage  upon  which 
she  has  so  long  played  her  tragic  and  sorrowful  role. 


CHAPTER  V 

LILT-FOOT   VANITY 

No  other  custom  seems  to  be  as  censurable  as  foot  binding. 
From  the  age  of  six  to  twelve  years  the  young  aspirant  for 
tiny  feet  gladly  submitted  to  painful  deadening  of  the  circula- 
tion in  her  feet  so  that  those  members  would  not  keep  pace 
with  the  healthful  unfolding  of  her  maturity.  Although  decrees 
have  been  published  against  this  practice  it  is  still  lingering, 
but  will  eventually  die  out. 

The  origin  of  this  practice,  like  all  other  Chinese  ancient 
customs,  is  lost  in  the  lapse  of  time.  One  story  ascribes  it  to 
the  example  set  by  an  imperial  princess  born  with  small  club 
feet  but  otherwise  so  beautiful  that  all  other  women  wanted 
to  imitate  her  physical  perfection  and  defect  in  every  particular. 
A  Chinese  scholar  in  Nankin  gave  me  a  story  of  its  origin 
which  I  am  sure  is  new  and  has  never  been  published.  I  give 
his  words  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect: 

"An  ancient  Chinese  emperor,  whose  name  is  lost  to  his- 
tory and  fortunately  so  because  he  was  the  most  debauched 
of  all  our  sovereigns,  was  accustomed  to  give  theatrical  enter- 
tainments in  his  palaces  to  which  he  invited  all  his  subjects 
with  their  daughters  in  order  that  the  latter  might  take  parts 
to  be  assigned  to  them  in  the  imperial  entertainments,  and  as 
candidates  in  an  exhibition  of  their  beauty  and  talents  strive 
to  become  a  part  of  his  household.  In  the  debauchery  of  his 
nature  he  gave  these  entertainments  many  novel  and  unusual 
features,  and  on  one  occasion  caused  his  stage  artisans  to  prepare 
with  other  accessories  golden  foot  pieces  with  the  device:  'She 
who  places  her  feet  in  these  lilies  shall  be  my  favorite.' 

"A  large  concourse  of  aspirants  exhausted  every  means  to 
crowd  their  feet  into  the  golden  lilies,  but  without  success  until 

35 


36      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

after  waiting  a  dozen  years  a  candidate  presented  herself  who 
passed  the  test  and  was  accepted,  her  wily  old  mother  having 
bound  her  feet  for  the  purpose.  Great  was  the  envy  of  the 
other  mothers,  and  thus  the  custom  of  foot  binding  was  origi- 
nated." 

Although  we  know  nothing  of  the  origin  of  the  custom,  we 
are  cognizant  of  the  cause  of  its  end — an  awakening  to  the 
barbarity  and  silliness  of  the  practice.  Nothing  will  do  more 
to  abolish  this  fashion  than  the  adoption  of  simple  European 
footwear  of  leather  in  the  place  of  the  dainty  Chinese  shoes 
of  figured  satins  and  fancy  cheviots,  the  former  exposing  the 
deformity  in  detail  without  any  concealment  of  colored  cloth 
or  raised  foot  sole  to  hide  it.  Bound-foot  women  have  to 
walk  on  their  heels  in  a  stiff,  stilt-like  manner,  the  spinal 
column  suffering  direct  concussion  at  each  foot  fall  since  there 
is  no  absorption  of  the  shock  by  the  muscles  of  the  leg  and 
forefoot.  European  shoes  without  heels — and  bound  feet  cannot 
wear  them  with  heels — do  not  become  a  woman's  fashionable 
dressing  nor  add  to  the  stature  of  the  sometimes  rather  diminu- 
tive Chinese  lady.  Hence  one  vanity  overcometh  another! 
Vanjiias  vanitatis!  Foot  binding,  being  a  practice  particularly 
prevalent  among  the  lower  classes,  will  not  disappear  among 
them  as  rapidly  as  among  the  better  classes. 

Only  the  Chinese  have  this  custom,  the  Manchus  having 
condemned  it  as  fit  only  for  the  Chinese  but  not  themselves. 
Occasionally  the  tourist  will  observe,  particularly  in  Peking, 
a  woman  apparently  Manchu,  judging  from  her  black  satin 
butterfly  bow  hat  and  her  gown,  who  has  bound  feet.  Such 
types  are  not,  however,  Manchu  but  are  really  Chinese  women 
who,  marrying  Manchus,  adopt  the  customs  of  their  husband's 
people  as  near  as  they  can.  These  marriages,  which  were  pro- 
hibited by  the  law  up  to  1900,  are  now  becoming  very  common. 

And  with  the  bound  feet  will  likewise  disappear  the  harm- 
ful and  ugly  hairdressing  of  the  Chinese  women,  whose  aim 


Lily -Foot  Vanity  37 


seems  to  be  to  conceal  and  destroy  their  beautiful  heavy  black 
hair  rather  than  use  it  to  enframe  and  add  to  the  attractiveness 
of  the  face.  They  pull  and  slick  their  hair  back  in  a  greased 
plaster  and  mat  shape,  drawing  and  combing  it  as  tightly  as 
possible,  holding  it  as  a  mould  in  place  by  fancy  close  fitting 
head  bands  with  jade  or  other  ornaments,  only  allowing  the 
coil  in  loops  at  the  back  of  the  head  to  give  an  indication  of 
the  treasure  of  beautiful  hair,  thus  ruthlessly  concealed  by  the 
rude  dictates  of  their  fashion.  This  combing  and  straining 
at  the  hair  roots  is  with  malaria  the  cause  of  the  frequent 
baldness  among  middle  aged  Chinese  women  who  make  no 
attempt  to  conceal  or  protect  their  sometimes  almost  bare  scalps 
with  wigs  or  other  artificial  hair  accessories.  Women,  except 
the  Manchus,  generally  wear  no  headdress  as  before  indicated, 
and  those  of  the  north  in  winter  time  wear  a  man's  style 
of  hat  which  can  be  pulled  down  over  their  ears  and  made  of 
fur  or  cloth  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  wearer,  richly  embroidered 
and  with  colored  satin  scarfs  hanging  from  the  back. 

What  mysteries,  these  Chinese  women !  Some  delicately 
complexioned,  perfumed  and  unctuous,  adorned  with  costly  gems 
and  dressed  in  rich  brocades;  others  parchment  skinned,  un- 
kempt, hacking  out  a  hollow  cough  that  tells  of  nights  spent 
over  earthen  floors  in  the  foul  damp  air  of  the  hovels  that 
serve  them  as  homes;  but  all  under  the  protection  of  men  who 
cherish  them  as  they  do  their  song  birds  tied  to  sticks  or  con- 
fined in  covered  cages.  Labor  beyond  the  threshold  of  their 
abode  is  not  their  lot,  nor  with  it  the  unrestraint  of  family, 
yet  where  else  the  whole  world  over  will  you  find  women 
more  independent  in  the  enjoyment  of  luxury  or  more  happy 
in  the  endurance  of  destitution? 

When  the  pathetic  figure  of  the  Chinese  woman  stilting 
along  on  her  stumped  feet  with  hands  ever  ready  to  balance 
the  uncertain  step,  her  luxuriant  hair  radiantly  plastered  and 
curiously  adorned,  her  eyes  heightened  in  their  brightness  by 


38      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

rich  toned  silks  and  the  sluggish  glow  of  jade,  her  rounded 
trousers  grotesque  beneath  the  flaring  skirts,  stoical  and  proud 
but'  keenly  observant  and  ever  ready  with  the  response  of  her 
gracious  smile  or  low  musical  laugh;  when  she  shall  have 
passed  away  the  curtain  will  fall  upon  the  most  striking 
tableau  vivanf  of  our  times  and  the  picture  of  a  thousand  years 
will  be  forever  lost  in  the  unalterable  change  of  a  single  genera- 
tion. 

But  in  the  meantime  she  is  still  proud  of  her  plastered  hair 
and  lily  feet,  and  looks  with  pity  on  the  over-redundant  hair 
dress  and  with  horror  on  the  corseted  waistline  of  the  foreign 
lady. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
EVERYDAY  CHINA 

The  traveler  seeking  the  wonderful  in  architecture  and  the 
beautiful  in  art  will  be  rudely  disappointed  in  China,  for  of 
such  there  is  but  little  to  be  seen.  Excepting  the  ramshackle 
pagodas  with  their  gaping  sides  and  grass  grown  roofs,  there 
is  not  much  to  attract  in  the  way  of  building  design,  although 
the  lover  of  the  picturesque  never  will  tire  of  the  unique  land- 
scape setting  which  many  of  these  pagodas  possess.  The  student 
of  history  will  also  find  disappointments  in  his  futile  efforts 
to  locate  points  of  historical  interest,  for  compared  with  other 
countries  China  is  strangely  lacking  in  history,  even  in  folklore 
and  legends.  Let  us  hope  that  in  eventual  excavations  in  the 
alluvial  deposits,  particularly  of  Central  China,  much  light  will 
be  thrown  upon  Cathay's  history  by  the  discovery  of  monuments 
and  other  treasures  of  the  forgotten  past. 

Any  ancient  landmark  can  be  properly  represented  accord- 
ing to  the  picturesque  use  of  Chinese  hyperbola  as  a  thing 
of  ten  thousand  years.  Long  did  I  linger  upon  the  beautifully 
arched  bridge  of  Foochow  looking  upon  the  ever-changing  scenes 
of  the  river  fronts  with  a  thought  of  regret  that  such  a  beau- 
tiful and  comparatively  modern  bridge  should  be  burdened  with 
its  inappropriate  name  of  "The  Bridge  of  Ten  Thousand  Ages." 

There  is  today  very  little  of  the  very  old  in  China  as  com- 
pared even  with  India.  One  reason  assigned  for  the  imper- 
manency  of  Chinese  buildings  is  that  they  are  not  built  as  with 
ms  on  deep  set  foundations,  but  are  only  anchored  as  it  were 
to  the  ground  by  the  weight  of  their  heavy  roofs. 

The  amateur  of  sculpture  and  painting  will  find  but  a  pass- 
ing interest  in  the  Chinese  standards  so  wonderfully  improved 

39 


40      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

upon  and  idealized  by  the  Japanese.  But  to  devotees  of  the 
trades  and  crafts  and  to  the  keen  observers  who  love  to  read 
the  romances  and  tragedies  of  men  as  portrayed  in  the  chang- 
ing scenes  of  their  daily  life,  China  becomes  a  land  of  enchant- 
ment. 

The  Chinese  have  ever  been  described  as  an  industrious  and 
peace  loving  people,  but  more  than  this  they  are  the  most 
home  attached  and  domestic  race  of  the  earth,  so  devoted  to  their 
homes  that  they  will  make  any  sacrifice  to  maintain  their 
quiet  enjoyment.  The  walls  which  still  today  surround  a  thou- 
sand Chinese  cities,  stand  as  monuments  to  their  home  loving 
instinct.  War,  howsoever  honorable,  was  to  them  atrocious. 
By  their  artisan  intelligence  they  could  until  comparatively 
recent  times  within  the  safety  of  their  fortifications  enjoy  un- 
disturbed the  peace  and  quiet  of  their  firesides.  In  building 
walls  they  dispensed  with  the  burdens  of  the  soldiery,  whom 
they  looked  upon  as  a  needless  element  of  society  whose  occupa- 
tion begot  idleness  and  provoked  mischief.  A  trade  or  other 
honest  calling  was  the  irrevocable  exaction  made  of  all  those 
who  enjoyed  the  protection  of  those  bastions  and  walls.  There 
could  be  no  idleness  in  the  city;  there  was  no  room  for  drones. 
All  had  their  fixed  employment,  save  the  unfortunate  sick  or 
decrepit,  who  were  charitably  allowed  to  seek  their  pittance 
from  door  to  door.  The  Chinese  did  not  so  much  regard  them 
as  beggars ;  they  were  rather  considered  as  pensioners  by  reason 
of  their  misfortune  and  treated  accordingly  with  unusual  com- 
miseration. The  tolerance  and  even  respect  shown  beggars 
throughout  China  is  a  beautiful  commentary  of  the  teachings 
of  Confucius.  On  the  slopes  of  Purple  Mountain  near  Nankin, 
while  I  was  watching  the  drilling  of  Eepublican  troops,  a  whole 
battalion  of  infantry  changed  its  line  of  march  to  avoid  dis- 
turbing an  old  beggar  who  was  dragging  himself  along  the 
highway.  In  a  crowded  city  street  I  saw  a  crippled  mendicant, 
his  little  dog  trained  to  kowtow  in  a  droll  manner  before  him, 


Everyday  China  41 


take  up  the  best  part  of  the  packed  thoroughfare  as  the  crowd 
passed  good  naturedly  on  either  side  of  him. 

Until  the  advent  of  the  Republic  practically  no  police  were 
deemed  necessary  to  keep  order  within  the  cities,  and  upon 
my  return  to  China  after  the  Revolution  no  innovation  im- 
pressed me  more  than  the  armed  city  guards  who,  among  the 
gowned  throngs  which  have  passed  and  repassed  for  hundreds 
of  years  just  as  they  are  passing  today  with  the  stamp  of 
some  labor  or  calling  upon  them  all,  intent  upon  their  business, 
pushing  ahead  but  with  no  undue  jostling,  the  coolies'  begrimed 
cotton  against  the  fresh  brocade  of  the  merchant,  forecast  the 
disappearance  of  a  social  life  which  has  lasted  longer  than  that 
of  any  other  race. 

Governed  by  the  simple  rule  of  patriarchal  obedience  and 
restrained  from  evil  doing  by  the  never  ending  tasks  of  their 
callings,  these  busy  denizens  had  as  little  need  of  constabulary 
within  as  they  had  of  soldiery  without. 

Once  at  Nankin  I  watched  a  modern  application  of  the 
real  power  of  the  patriarchal  institution  of  authority.  In  the 
midst  of  the  street,  surrounded  by  a  silent  and  respectful  crowd, 
a  father  with  a  club  was  belaboring  his  strapping  twenty-year 
old  son  for  some  presumable  misconduct.  The  son  on  his 
knees  and  with  upheld  hands  begged  for  mercy  until  finally 
satisfied  that  even  justice  had  been  meted  out  in  punishment, 
the  father,  with  the  air  of  one  who  has  done  his  full  duty 
without  anger  or  imprecation,  leaving  his  offspring  dazed  and 
only  half-conscious,  limp  upon  the  ground,  and  accompanied  by 
his  wife  marched  quietly  but  superbly  away. 

A  couple  of  police  stood  by  with  never  a  thought  of  in- 
terfering in  the  serious  assault.  They  still  recognized  in  the 
authority  of  the  parent  a  force  superior  to  the  innovation  of 
modern  government;  a  natural  combination  of  executive  and 
judicial  authority  existing  under  the  most  irrevocable  law  of 
man — the  law  of  custom.  The  patriarchal  institution  did  much 


42      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

to  hold  China  in  the  mold  of  its  social  lethargy,  the  principal 
reason  for  which,  however,  is  found  as  we  have  noted  in  Chinese 
geographical  isolation. 

As  we  walk  about  the  noisome  Chinese  streets,  the  fetor 
and  squalor — only  relieved  at  rare  intervals  by  temple  spaces 
or  tea  house  rockeries  or  more  frequently  a  bird  or  florist's 
store,  where  the  warbling  song  or  the  flower's  scent  are  a  wel- 
come respite  from  the  depressing  scenes  about — to  properly  in- 
terpret the  Chinese  in  these  precious  crowded  spaces  within 
the  city  walls,  we  should  recall  what  in  all  likelihood  was  the 
condition  of  our  own  racial  ancestors  some  two  thousand  years 
ago. 

Well  vaccinated  and  with  court  plaster  over  any  broken 
parts  of  cuticle,  there  is  as  little  danger  of  contracting  disease 
in  lingering  and  rambling  about  a  Chinese  city  as  there  would 
be  in  a  stroll  along  the  boulevarded  part  of  the  foreign  settle- 
ment. 

Palanquin  chairs  are  all  well  enough  to  obtain  general  im- 
pressions, but  to  really  know  a  Chinese  city  you  must  ramble. 
I  do  not  say  walking  for  that  fashion  of  locomotion  is  far 
too  orderly  and  connected  to  adapt  itself  to  the  slow  and  un- 
certain progress  of  a  curiously  observed  foreigner  in  a  Chinese 
city,  where  pushed  and  jostled  by  greasy  shoulders,  bumped 
by  swinging  baskets  of  provisions — stepping  quickly  out  of 
the  way  of  straining  coolies  as  they  pant  along,  calling  their 
step  to  each  other,  taking  up  half  of  the  street,  their  heavy 
load  swinging  from  a  bamboo  pole — importuned  by  beggars, 
squeezed  by  wheelbarrows,  good  naturedly  eyed  by  all,  getting 
about  is  more  like  a  never-ending  game  of  hop,  skip  and  jump 
than  mere  walking. 

The  Chinese  love  activity.  Without  wishing  to  idealize 
them  in  a  single  particular,  I  must  say  that  they  are  the  most 
eternally  alert  and  wide-awake  people  on  our  whole  planet. 
They  are  always  moving  about  and  in  a  long  day's  journey  it 


Everyday  China  43 


is  hard  to  discover  one  of  them  who  is  idle.  If  they  haven't 
anything  to  do  for  the  moment  they  stand  expectant  ready 
to  recommence  their  work.  They  neither  sit  down  for  rest 
like  Europeans  nor  squat  like  all  other  Asiatic  people.  As 
long  as  the  day's  labor  lasts  they  are  agile  and  keenly  watch- 
ful  for  the  next  move.  The  poorer  classes  nearly  always  eat 
their  food  standing.  A  Chinese  asleep  in  the  daytime  is  a 
ridiculous  impossibility  in  China.  It  is  in  his  nature  to  stir 
around  as  long  as  the  sunlight  lasts.  The  very  marrow  of 
his  bones  seems  to  tingle  with  activity.  Yawning  with  them 
does  not  seem  as  common  as  with  us.  Hard  labor  leaves  no 
mark  of  fatigue  upon  their  faces,  even  though  their  limbs 
drag  with  exhaustion.  They  love  the  excitement  of  motion — 
not  by  fits  and  starts — but  the  onward  orderly  motion  like 
the  turning  of  a  great  wheel  propelled  by  the  rise  and  fall 
of  its  shaft.  Such  an  exhibition  of  modern  enginery  as  this 
or  any  other  to  them,  great  wonder,  will  hold  a  crowd  spell- 
bound with  interest.  The  Chinese  love  method  even  in  motion. 
They  themselves  are  methodic  and  orderly.  Every  motion 
must  count  with  them,  even  to  the  rickshaw  men  who  so 
measure  their  breath  that  they  arrive  at  the  end  of  their  course 
without  panting,  although  they  will  strain  themselves  to  the 
extreme  if  required.  The  secret  of  Chinese  individual  inde- 
pendence may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  each  man  works  at 
his  calling  alone.  Every  artisan  has  his  set  labor  regardless 
of  the  labor  of  companions.  Even  the  coolies  work  singly, 
except  where  the  nature  ">f  their  work  requires  the  combined 
strength  of  two  or  several.  They  are,  therefore,  largely  their 
own  masters.  They  follow  their  vocation  without  direction  or 
orders,  although  much  will  be  gained  when  they  submit  to 
the  discipline  of  organization.  And  so  they  have  finally  taken 
the  independence  of  their  daily  labor  into  their  social  life  in 
all  of  its  ramifications,  finally  coming  to  the  point  where 
they  will  neither  offer  nor  brook  interference. 


44      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Loving  activity  the  Chinese  naturally  love  crowds,  for  their 
crowds  are  rarely  stationary  although  nearly  always  compara- 
tively noiseless.  Their  streets,  though  thronged  with  passing 
multitude,  are  frequently  so  still,  except  when  carriers  pass, 
that  the  light  sounds  of  the  silversmith  tools  can  he  heard 
by  an  attentive  passerby.  The  only  crowds  that  most  Chinese 
have  ever  known  are  the  street  crowds  as  they  curiously  gather 
in  a  common  impulse  of  observation  at  some  strange  or  unusual 
sight. 

During  your  rambles  do  not  feel  annoyed  at  the  good  natured 
crowds  that  will  in  some  cities  gather  about  you,  for  the  white 
face  is  still  much  of  a  rarity  in  most  parts  of  interior  China. 
Not  only  our  physical  appearance  but  likewise  our  clothes  in- 
terest them.  Someone  in  the  crowd  will  get  the  detail  of  every 
button.  Fond  as  I  am  of  children,  I  have  frequently  felt 
sorry  for  little  Chinese  children  who  would  run  from  us  in 
great  fright.  In  Peking  once  we  stopped  to  watch  some  caravan 
camels,  and  while  doing  so  a  father  ran  into  his  house  to 
bring  out  his  whole  family  of  little  ones  who  shrinkingly  and 
wonderingly  gazed  upon  us.  I  once  saw  a  Chinese  albino.  In 
spite  of  his  strong  Asiatic  features  he  might  have  passed  for 
some  fair  skinned  European  dweller  of  the  north.  He  at- 
tracted much  attention  among  the  Chinese,  but  not  as  much 
as  I,  a  foreigner,  which  leads  me  to  believe  that  our  style  of 
dressing  is  the  great  object  of  their  curiosity.  And  really 
we  must  appear  outlandish  to  them !  Our  women  with  their 
stays  and  high-heeled  shoes;  our  men  with  collar,  cravat  and 
derby  hat! 

One  of  the  most  distressing  experiences  in  a  ramble  in  a 
Chinese  city  are  the  beggars.  Their  condition  is  dreadful 
beyond  description,  and  they  frequently  expose  afflicted  parts 
of  their  person,  such  as  a  diseased  arm  or  limb,  so  that  amid 
their  rags  they  produce  an  impression  so  shocking  that  delicate 
persons  are  sometimes  hours  in  recovering  from  its  effect.  To 


Everyday  China  45 


add  to  the  sadness  of  the  situation  one  dares  rarely  to  give 
them  any  alms,  for  the  word  will  be  quickly  carried  along  to 
other  beggars  who  will  come  swarming  with  dreadful  out- 
stretched hands  and  with  open  sores  of  virulent  contagion, 
thrusting  their  loathsome  bodies  through  the  crowd  until  they 
arrive  directly  against  one.  Flint  hearted  and  callous  indeed 
would  be  anyone  who  would  not  gladly  and  generously  respond  to 
these  unfortunate  afflicted  beings  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so 
without  grave  personal  exposure  to  contagion.  Nearly  all 
beggars  in  China  are  worthy  of  charity.  There  are  few  fake 
beggars  as  in  India,  although  one  is  frequently  importuned  by 
children  following  and  crying  vigorously  for  cumshaw,  a  word 
derived  from  "Come  Shore,"  meaning  money  given  the  sailors 
to  come  ashore  with  and  which  was  supposed  to  be  spent  with 
the  prodigality  that  only  drunken  seamen  affect.  Outside 
of  the  cumshaw  children's  begging  of  the  port  towns,  there  ia 
little  mendicancy  in  China  as  compared  with  India. 

Perhaps  in  your  meandering  about  the  streets  you  may 
be  fortunate  in  running  into  a  fair.  In  Peking,  which  is 
the  most  enjoyable  of  all  Chinese  cities  for  a  ramble,  there 
are  numerous  fairs,  nearly  all  of  which  are  arranged  in  temple 
grounds.  Describing  one  held  at  the  temple  grounds  of  Hou- 
kouosieu  may  be  entertaining. 

The  streets  leading  up  to  the  temple  grounds  are  filled  with 
people  and  lined  with  the  wares  of  small  merchants  who  sell 
everything  from  a  dwarfed  pine  tree  to  a  fish  pole  feather 
duster.  Many  brilliantly  vermillioned  women's  faces  are  seen 
in  the  throng,  which  calls  for  a  word  of  explanation.  Chinese 
and  Manchu  girls  and  women  paint  themselves  as  a  mere 
matter  of  decoration,  just  as  they  would  sew  a  bright  colored 
band  to  their  hats.  There  is  no  attempt  at  deception,  for  it 
is  laid  on  as  thickly  as  the  paint  on  a  house.  Little  girls, 
dressed  in  rags,  humble  little  chips  of  humanity  just  beginning 
to  have  a  likeness  for  pretty  things,  paint  themselves  up  when 


46      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

they  can  get  hold  of  the  color,  and  all  crimson  with  their 
daubs  are  seen  mopping  up  the  floors  or  throwing  out  the 
dish  water  that  they  have  warmed  their  hands  in  if  it  be 
winter  time.  Mothers  to  amuse  the  children  sometimes  paint 
their  children's  faces,  and  they  are  thus  seen  like  grotesque  little 
clowns  in  the  street.  The  custom  of  face  painting  has  no 
significance  in  China.  Our  women  paint  to  improve  the  appear- 
ance of  their  complexion;  Chinese  women  paint  just  for  fun — 
for  the  mere  strangeness  of  the  decoration. 

But  to  return  to  the  fair.  Inside  the  dilapidated  temple 
grounds  is  disclosed  an  endless  chain  of  pleasure  seekers  and 
bargain  hunters,  crowding  in  orderly  columns  through  the  nar- 
row gateways  of  the  temples  unless  deflected  into  narrower 
files,  directed  toward  particular  booths  of  merchandise.  Chinese 
crowds  are  very  quiet  compared  with  ours;  no  loud  laughter, 
although  everyone  is  good  natured  and  smiling.  No  hum  of 
voices  for  they  are  close  observers  and  have  little  desire  to 
talk  when  there  is  something  new  to  see.  Here  and  there  in 
the  temple  grounds  medicine  dispensers  are  proclaiming  in 
husky  voices,  much  as  the  singing  salesmen  of  city  wares, 
the  excellence  of  the  concoctions  offered  for  sale.  One  of 
them  is  a  strong,  powerful,  low  statured  fellow  who,  throwing 
aside  his  fur  coat  and  disclosing  his  half-naked  body,  cries  out, 
"How  potent  is  the  power  of  medicine  when  properly  prepared. 
See!  I  am  strong  because  I  use  these  tablets.  Let  those  who 
are  ailing  profit  by  my  words !"  With  that  he  seizes  a  bundling 
mass  of  heavy  ship  chains  loaded  with  weights  of  blunt  metal 
which  he  throws  into  the  air,  pulling  them  down  upon  his 
naked  breast  with  a  sickening  thud,  repeated  a  score  of  times 
amid  his  yells  and  grimaces  of  self-inflicted  pain.  Finally, 
exhausted  with  his  exertions  and  overcome  by  the  force  of  his 
own  ingenious  assault,  he  drops  the  irons  to  take  the  tablet 
of  medicine  proffered  by  his  attendant,  and  reviving  himself 
with  a  cup  of  tea  he  follows  the  lively  sale  of  his  alleged 
medicine  with  interest. 


January  in  Old  Shanghai  with  snow  on 
Tea  House  Bridge. 

Hongkong  Peak  from  Signal  Station. 


January  in  Canton  tcith  front  of  shops 
open. 

(llintpse   of   Foochow   bridge   of   Ten 
Thousand  Ages. 


Everyday  China  47 


A  few  yards  from  this  spectacle  is  a  pole  thrower  who,  pro- 
claiming the  virtues  of  a  certain  medicine,  hurls  and  spins 
a  thirty-foot  pole  in  the  air  regardless  of  the  fact  that  a  single 
slip  may  brain  a  half  dozen  of  the  admiring  crowd  beneath. 

Still  farther  beyond  is  a  sword  swallower,  a  tall  handsome 
fellow  who,  with  dramatic  gestures  and  poses,  finally  seizes  a  wide 
glittering  sword  longer  than  his  body  is  wide,  plunging  it  down 
through  his  throat  and  aesophagus,  where  he  allows  it  to  re- 
main a  surprising  length  of  time,  the  secretions  of  his  throat 
and  gullet  meantime  draining  along  the  blade. 

Another  vender  of  cures  in  pantomime  tragically  exhibits 
a  plaster  which  he  places  upon  various  parts  of  the  bodies  of 
those  who  present  themselves  for  treatment  with  many  grandiose 
movements  of  his  hands  and  arms. 

These  jugglers,  mountebanks  and  medicine  men  are  very 
common  in  China,  and  their  skill  and  dexterity  would  bring 
forth  a  storm  of  applause  were  they  on  the  American  vaude- 
ville stage.  Their  accessories  are  very  simple.  The  novelty 
and  skillfulness  of  their  sleight-of-hand  is  wonderful  and  only 
obtained  by  continued  practice  from  childhood.  Quite  a  com- 
mon trick  is  blowing  clouds  of  smoke  and  spouts  of  fire  from 
their  mouth  in  astonishing  volumes,  which,  when  quenched 
apparently  by  chewing  up  into  the  mouth  from  time  to  time 
a  sort  of  mealy  looking  mixture,  suddenly  belches  forth  anew, 
crackling  and  exploding  into  a  great  shower  of  sparks — a  most 
inexhaustible  pyrotechnic. 

The  Chinese,  although  lacking  in  many  other  forms  of 
entertainment,  have  developed  the  art  of  legerdemain  into  a 
state  of  excellence  hardly  to  be  expected  in  the  full  light 
of  open  air  exhibitions  and  pathetically  scant  paraphernalia. 
The  entertainments  are  generally  public,  the  Chinese  magician 
depending  upon  the  generosity  of  spectators  for  his  reward 
in  case  he  offers  nothing  to  sell.  It  is  surprising  how  liberally 
even  poor  Chinese  respond  by  a  voluntary  contribution  of 


48      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

cash  when  they  deem  the  performance  worthy.  One  reason  why 
the  theatre  has  not  thrived  in  China  is  found  in  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  natives  to  pay  in  advance  for  an  entertainment  of 
whose  value  they  are  uncertain.  A  German  established  a  mov- 
ing picture  show  at  Chentu,  in  Szechuan  Province.  At  first 
the  Chinese  would  not  patronize  it,  complaining  because  an 
admission  fee  was  charged  and  the  entertainment  all  secretly 
enclosed,  for  the  entertainments  are,  with  the  exception  of 
certain  metropolitan  theatres,  held  in  public  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions much  like  the  fairs  in  some  of  our  American  coun- 
tries. After  they  discovered,  however,  that  the  show  was  worth 
the  money  they  patronized  it  very  largely. 

These  magicians,  as  I  have  above  told  of  them,  must  not 
be  confused  with  the  fortune  tellers  and  necromancers  who, 
prevailing  in  large  numbers,  are  a  serious  detriment  to  modern 
advance  by  continuing  ancient  superstitions,  particularly  since 
their  art  is  frequently  hereditary  as  is  that  ofttimes  of  the 
Chinese  physician.  They  are  not  all  mere  unkempt  rascals 
such  as  are  commonly  noticed  with  their  cabalistic  charts  before 
them  in  the  busy  streets  of  every  Chinese  city.  They  some- 
times, by  their  personalities  and  their  adroitness  in  handling 
their  patrons,  establish  quite  a  local  reputation  for  sooth- 
saying and  enjoy  large  emoluments  from  the  exercise  of  their 
calling.  I  remember  one  fellow  at  Nankin  who,  in  a  retired 
corner  where  the  congenial  sunshine  of  a  winter's  after- 
noon made  his  open  air  consultations  comfortable  and  pleas- 
ant underneath  a  canopy  of  canvas,  richly  robed,  immacu- 
lately barbered,  leaning  back  with  a  sort  of  judicial  dignity 
in  his  easy  chair  with  his  servants  in  awestricken  attendance 
as  the  future  of  a  prosperous  looking  patron  was  forecast. 
The  patron,  hanging  upon  every  syllable  of  the  necromancer 
with  a  couple  of  divining  sticks  in  his  hand,  sat  transfixed 
with  attention  as  his  fortune  was  cast  in  signs  and  characters 
upon  the  writing  slate  before  him,  while  the  accompanying 


Everyday  China  49 


words  of  explanation  were  uttered  solemnly  and  convincingly 
with  wide  and  grandiloquent  gestures.  As  the  soothsayer,  paus- 
ing in  his  rich  elocution,  happened  to  observe  the  presence  of 
foreigners,  he  abruptly  stopped,  and  with  a  low  word  to  his 
patron,  setting  his  features  in  a  fixed  expression  rather  of 
resignation  than  chagrin,  politely  lapsed  into  a  reverie,  entirely 
suspending  the  seance  and  erasing  the  inscriptions  which  covered 
the  slate.  As  we  passed  away  he  immediately  resumed  the 
consultation,  undoubtedly  informing  his  client  of  his  good 
fortune  in  having  escaped  the  influence  of  foreign  shadows  fall- 
ing upon  his  horoscope.  A  stringent  law  under  severe  penalties 
directed  against  these  necromancers  will  eradicate  much  of 
the  Chinese  superstition  in  a  decade,  and  they  will  soon  descend 
to  the  innocuous  level  of  our  gypsy  fortune  tellers  in  Europe 
and  America. 

The  practice  of  necromancy  as  well  as  what  are  known 
among  us  of  the  professions  of  medicine,  ministry  and  dentistry 
are  free  and  open  to  all  without  let  or  hindrance,  the  Chinese 
proceeding  on  the  theory  that  if  an  avocational  man  doesn't 
know  his  business  he  can  get  no  patrons  and  will,  therefore, 
do  no  harm.  Every  turn  in  the  road,  however,  brings  spectacles 
of  disease,  which  a  few  days'  simple  treatment  with  the  proper 
washes  or  other  medicine  would  greatly  alleviate  or  entirely 
cure.  The  other  day  I  saw  a  native  dentist  working  away  on  a 
suffering  woman's  teeth,  causing  her  undoubtedly  great  pain, 
when  a  simple  antiseptic  treatment  would  probably  have  been 
all  she  needed.  The  Chinese,  from  a  modern  standpoint,  have 
no  idea  of  prophylactics,  and  their  comparative  freedom  from 
sickness  in  the  filth  and  foulness  of  their  daily  surroundings 
is  an  unquestioned  indication  of  their  virility.  Epidemics  have 
never  obtained  the  proportions  here,  all  things  considered,  as 
in  Europe  during  the  medieval  period.  During  the  terrible 
cholera  outbreak  in  the  Philippines  in  1902,  few  Chinese  sucj 
cumbed,  for  the  Chinese  tea  drinking  custom  with  its  enforced 


50      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

boiling  of  water  as  well  as  eating  their  food  hot  from  the  fire, 
make  them  immune  from  cholera  as  well  as  certain  other  in- 
testinal complaints. 

But  in  speaking  of  everyday  China,  let  us  know  something 
of  their  food,  for  it  is  not  the  soupy,  hashed-up  stuff  as  is 
commonly  believed.  Although  some  of  their  favorite  and  prin- 
cipal dishes  are  made  of  fresh  meats  and  vegetables  sliced  but 
not  chopped,  delicately  flavored  with  spices  or  highly  seasoned 
with  peppers,  according  to  taste,  others  of  their  most  common 
dishes  are  made  up  of  greaseless,  roasted  foods,  among  which 
their  delicious  sweet  potato  ranks  high.  What  might  be  called 
the  tub  oven  is  a  most  efficient  and  economical  means  of  roast- 
ing and  baking  at  the  same  time,  for  the  fuel  expense  in  the 
preparation  of  a  dish  largely  enters  into  the  calculation  of 
its  expense.  The  tub  oven  consists  of  a  large  buoy  shaped  clay 
vessel,  open  at  both  ends,  and  standing  upright  reaching  to  the 
convenient  height  of  the  waist  of  the  cook.  The  clay  vessel  is 
the  oven,  the  tub  being  merely  to  protect,  hold  upright  and 
insulate  it  to  allow  its  convenient  transportation  by  a  coolie 
swinging  it  from  his  pole.  A  hole  is  cut  into  the  side  of  the 
bottom  for  draft,  and  being  placed  in  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
the  slightest  movement  of  which  the  native  cook  detects  as 
readily  as  our  American  Indian,  the  draft  fans,  with  the  passing 
air,  a  bright  and  glowing  fire  in  the  charcoals  on  the  floor 
of  the  vessel.  Immediately  about  the  fire  are  laid  the  un- 
ekinned  sweet  yam  potatoes,  and  in  the  walls  are  fastened,  by 
mere  adhesion,  cakes  and  flat  biscuits  of  various  kinds,  the 
whole  filling  the  air  about,  in  the  process  of  baking  and  roast- 
ing, with  a  most  appetizing  odor.  A  fine  large  sweet  potato 
with  its  seasoning  will  cost  half  a  cent,  a  biscuit  another  half 
cent,  a  bowl  of  noodles  with  meat  another  half  copper  which, 
with  an  abundance  of  tea  for  another  half  cent,  will  make  up 
a  splendid  meal  for  two  cents,  unrivaled  both  in  excellence 
of  its  raw  products  and  preparation. 


Everyday  China  51 


Upon  the  theory  that  there  is  more  sickness  caused  by 
bathing  than  not  bathing,  the  Chinese  have  another  advantage 
over  other  nations,  for  they  bathe  less  frequently  perhaps  than 
any  other  people.  The  Japanese  bathe  not  alone  for  cleanliness 
but  for  the  pleasurable  warmth  of  the  water.  The  Chinese,  in 
spite  of  the  exposure  frequently  of  half  their  bodies  while 
working  in  zero  weather,  have  comparatively  few  colds.  As 
I  write  I  can  look  from  the  window  upon  a  stream  of  coolies 
and  rickshaw  men,  many  of  whom  are  barefooted  in  the  snow 
and  biting  wind.  No  other  nation  can  give  such  examples 
of  endurance  as  these.  Their  vigor  and  robustness  seem  to  be 
general  in  all  parts  of  China,  regardless  of  the  stature.  For 
the  Chinese  are  lower  statured  in  the  south  than  in  the  north 
where  six  footers  are  commoner  than  with  us.  Nor  do  they 
seem  to  lose  in  dexterity  as  they  gain  in  height.  It  is  some- 
times laughable  to  see  a  great,  brawny  Chinese  waiter,  his 
cue  and  broad  gowned  back  making  one  think  of  some  fabled 
race  of  giants.  One  of  the  world's  champion  boxers,  and  perhaps 
the  most  intelligent  of  them  all,  once  told  me  that  he  believed 
that  the  best  period  of  a  man  was  between  the  ages  of  twenty- 
four  and  twenty-six.  Assuming  for  the  purpose  of  illustration 
that  this  statement  is  true,  the  Chinese  have  a  great  advantage 
over  us,  for  they  consider  a  man  a  boy  in  strength  who  is  not 
thirty.  Those  who  claim  to  know  tell  me  that  their  best 
coolies  are  never  less  than  thirty,  and  that  their  age  doesn't 
seem  to  cut  any  figure  after  that.  They  simply  keep  on  going 
until  some  final  day  they  draw  their  wages  and  go  home  to 
die  in  the  harness  as  it  were.  But  upon  these  subjects  it  is 
very  hard  to  get  any  information,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
white  man  has  so  little  to  do  with  the  laboring  class.  To  one 
who  has  spent  any  time  in  the  Philippines  where  there  is  now 
an  entente  cordiale  between  the  Chinese  and  the  other  races, 
where  the  Chino  marries  the  native  woman  and  where  the  white 
man  takes  him  into  his  most  intimate  confidence,  such  a  condi- 


52      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

tion  appears  strange  indeed.  But  it  is  a  positive  fact  that  the 
representation  of  our  white  race  in  China  lives,  even  to  the 
missionaries,  entirely  apart  from  the  Chinese,  except  for  formal 
meetings,  commercial  relations,  educational  association  or  domes- 
tic service.  The  general  indifference  of  old  residents  and  the 
whole  foreign  public  generally,  excepting  the  missionaries,  to 
any  interest  in  the  Chinese  which  does  not  appeal  to  their 
pocket  books  is  at  times  incomprehensible.  Think  of  it! 
Europeans  who  are  unloading  thousands  of  pounds  worth  of 
products  daily  upon  these  people,  and  who  have  been  here  for 
a  score  and  more  of  years  living  in  ease  and  even  luxury  upon 
the  large  profits  exacted,  barely  taking  enough  concern  in  their 
surroundings  to  observe  the  most  common  of  the  rules  of  polite- 
ness prevailing  among  them.  How  can  the  Chinese  respect  us 
when  our  race  manifests  such  coarse  and  selfish  indifference 
toward  them?  A  little  incident  which  I  once  observed  from 
the  window  of  my  lodging  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  general 
attitude  of  our  people  toward  the  Chinese. 

The  heaviest  snow  of  years  having  fallen  in  Shanghai,  two 
young  French  school  boys  profited  by  the  occasion  to  go  out 
to  play  in  the  snow.  From  throwing  balls  at  each  other  they 
finally  asked  an  Italian  barber  standing  near  if  it  would  be 
all  right  to  throw  snowballs  at  the  Chinese  passersby.  The 
Italian  barber  not  only  indicated  that  it  was  proper,  but 
packing  some  balls  of  snow  himself  commenced  to  aim  them  at 
a  group  of  shivering  rickshaw  men  who,  some  with  their  feet 
and  legs  entirely  naked,  were  standing  nearby  in  the  ice  and 
snow.  To  them  the  occasion  was  not  particularly  appropriate 
for  the  teasing,  for  they  were  standing  keenly  alert  for  prospec- 
tive customers,  and  when  the  snow  was  thrown  at  them  re- 
peatedly, they  all  retired  into  a  doorway  except  one  who,  also 
picking  up  some  snow,  concluded  that  he  might  as  well  join 
in  the  Christmas  merriment  and  indication  of  the  white  man's 
good  will.  Being  a  lusty,  dexterous  young  fellow,  he  warmed 


Everyday  China  53 


to  the  sport  of  the  unequal  contest  at  short  range  of  three 
against  one  in  this  strange  international  and  allied  forced  duel, 
forgetting  himself  to  the  point  of  actually  striking  one  of  his 
opponents  with  a  snowball,  upon  which  with  great  affright  at 
his  temerity  he  took  to  his  heels  with  the  barber  in  pursuit,  who 
finally  caused  his  arrest.  This  is  a  case  of  sauce  alone  for 
the  goose  but  not  for  the  gander.  The  unfortunate  Chinese 
was  probably  sentenced  to  a  casual  term  at  hard  labor  for 
assault,  for  European  prestige  must  be  maintained  at  all 
hazard  of  injustice. 

The  young  lads,  thus  encouraged  in  their  manly  sport,  con- 
tinued to  pelt  all  Chinese,  regardless  of  age  or  sex,  with 
their  hard  packed  balls  of  snow  until  they  finally  became  tired 
and  the  barefooted  rickshaw  men  were  freed  from  their  tor- 
mentors. 

This  little  example  may  indicate  in  a  small  measure  some- 
thing of  our  conduct  toward  these  people.  We  have  done  the 
Chinese  no  intentional  good  but  much  deliberate  harm.  The 
only  extenuation  in  our  whole  allied  effort  and  attempt  to 
oppress  these  people  is  found  in  the  unappreciated  but  splendid 
work  of  our  poorly  supported  missionaries.  The  white  man's 
burden  is  a  myth  in  China — a  myth  to  excuse  the  wickedness 
of  the  opium  traffic  and  commercial  aggrandizement  at  the 
point  of  the  gun.  "What  good  have  we  ever  intentionally  tried 
to  do  the  Chinese  beyond  the  missions?  The  whole  history 
of  the  white  race  in  China  shows  that  our  own  selfish  lust 
for  China's  wealth  has  gone  to  the  greatest  extreme  that  the 
cunning  of  diplomacy  or  the  shedding  of  blood  in  armed  force 
could  attain.  This  arraignment  I  know  is  extreme,  but  from 
long  observation  in  China  I  regret  to  conclude  that  it  is  justified. 

We  hear  much  said  concerning  the  backwardness  of  China 
in  accepting  modern  standards,  as  though  that  country  were 
both  ungrateful  and  unappreciative  of  the  opportunity  to  assim- 
ilate western  progress.  Can  China  be  blamed  for  such  back- 


54      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

wardness  when  it  sees  the  kind  of  taskmasters  who  await  with 
vulture-like  eagerness  to  profit  by  the  confusion  resulting  from 
the  first  trembling  movement  of  such  a  gigantic  nation,  fixed 
and  stationary  upon  a  social  foundation  unchanged  in  cen- 
turies ? 

We  have  always  treated  the  Chinese  with  contumely.  Fail- 
ing to  understand  him  ourselves  we  blame  him  for  not  under- 
standing and  imitating  us.  With  itching  palms  we  survey 
the  riches  of  his  markets  and  try  to  devise  means  to  possess 
them.  We  despise  him  when  we  should  confide  in  him.  But 
Chinese  rapprochement  is  certain.  We  shall  soon  understand 
each  other  better. 

On  the  occasions  when  your  rambles  are  interrupted  by 
the  rain,  take  your  position  at  some  comfortable  window  op- 
posite a  tramstop  on  some  street  in  the  Foreign  Settlement, 
leading  up  to  the  Chinese  City  and  watch  the  stream  of  real 
motion  pictures  of  which  every  figure  becomes  a  tableau. 

Note  the  many  different  customs,  for  the  Chinese  are  as 
fond  of  variety  as  we,  and  have  more  independence  in  the 
gratification  of  their  taste.  Many  years  ago  in  the  Straits 
Settlement,  as  I  went  with  a  holiday  crowd  to  visit  Johore, 
a  party  of  young  Englishmen  laughed  very  rudely  at  a  young 
Chinese  matron  brilliantly  gowned  in  scarlet  and  imperial 
yellow,  and  made  some  coarse  comment  in  criticism  of  her 
taste.  Her  delicate  ivory  complexion  flushed  at  hearing  the 
words  which  she  was  not  supposed  to  be  able  to  understand, 
and  gathering  her  servants  about  her  with  a  curious  but  proud 
heightening  of  her  eyebrows,  she  walked  away  with  a  significant 
glance  at  the  marmot  and  mouse  colored  tweeds  of  the  young 
Englishmen.  Undoubtedly  she  thought  that  the  best  rebuke 
to  the  insult  was  a  polite  indication  of  comparison  between 
her  own  really  beautiful  costume — it  was  during  the  Chinese 
New  Year — and  the  coarse  and  colorless  cheap  clothing  of 
her  deriders. 


Everyday  China  55 


The  Chinese  always  dress  with  appropriateness  and  with 
regard  to  their  comfort,  particularly  in  conformance  with  the 
demands  of  the  weather.  It  is  only  on  gala  occasions  that  their 
women  come  out  in  light,  bright  colored  materials.  Nearly  all 
their  heavy  clothes  are  in  elegant  subdued  colors  as  with  us, 
the  linings  and  revers  alone  adding  a  touch  of  brightness  to 
their  costume. 

And  amid  all  the  varieties  of  costume  which  you  see  pass- 
ing before  you,  is  it  not  surprising  that  there  are  so  few  uni- 
forms? Our  brass  buttons  and  liveries  are  entirely  lacking. 
The  Chinese  believe  little  in  a  meaningless  outward  display  of 
semi-military  uniforms.  Never  having  been  a  military  people 
they  have  no  regard  for  such  dress.  A  simple  button  or  decora- 
tion on  the  top  of  the  hat  is  generally  enough  indication  of 
rank  and  authority  under  their  keen  observation. 

And  now  from  your  window  look  at  the  types  as  they  pass 
by  bedraggled  with  the  rain.  The  poor  are  particularly  un- 
fortunate as  usual,  for  if  they  have  shoes  for  their  feet  they 
perhaps  will  have  no  umbrella  or  waterproof.  The  sight  of  a 
rickshaw  man,  barelegged  and  barefooted,  splashing  through  the 
cold  slush,  but  with  a  new  mackintosh  over  his  shoulders,  is 
common  today,  for  that  particular  coolie,  in  common  with 
thousands  of  his  fellows,  never  seems  to  get  enough  money 
together  at  once  to  properly  and  entirely  clothe  himself.  And 
yet  the  foreigners  begrudge  him  a  few  cents  extra  as  a  tip  for 
a  rickshaw  ride  when  they  throw  out  their  quarters  and  shillings 
very  liberally  among  the  serving  class  at  home.  Frequently 
the  Chinese  coolie  has  to  stand  for  impositions  even  today  in 
the  concessions  in  the  foreign  treatment  he  receives  that  are 
indeed  unjust.  If  he  is  struck  and  beaten  by  a  foreigner  he 
has  frequently  no  redress,  even  though  the  assault  may  have 
been  almost  murderous,  for  the  offense  was  committed  in  a 
foreign  settlement  where  each  foreigner  mistakenly  and  too 
often  believes  that  it  is  his  duty  to  stand  up  for  every  other, 


56      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

and  where  the  foreign  judges  come  to  their  decisions  through 
the  same  erroneous  impulse.  Eight  is  right,  and  if  justice 
discriminates  between  men  as  members  of  different  races  there 
is  no  justice.  Look  at  the  difference  between  the  Chinese  treat- 
ment of  the  foreigner  and  the  foreigner's  treatment  of  the 
Chinese.  I  go  about  in  their  cities  at  will,  regardless  as  to 
whether  they  are  treaty  ports  or  not.  They  accord  me  a  kind 
and  good  natured  treatment,  and  although  in  the  remote  parts 
their  natural  curiosity  is  sometimes  annoying  because  of  the 
crowds  that  quickly  gather,  they  are  always  good  natured, 
answering  smile  for  smile.  The  Boxer  outbreak  was  not  a 
Chinese  machination.  It  was  the  result  of  direct  obedience  to 
a  Manchu  order,  promulgated  by  a  vicious,  bad  woman  whose 
ignorance  and  wickedness  for  one  so  high  in  power  stands 
unparalleled  in  the  world's  history.  The  Boxers  were  originally 
never  formed  for  any  purpose  save  that  of  protest  against  the 
foreigners  denying  the  Chinese  in  China  the  same  rights  which 
the  Chinese  accorded  willingly  and  gladly  to  the  foreigners. 
The  Boxers  go  down  in  history  with  the  recorded  stigma  of 
assassins.  Some  of  them  should  be  remembered  as  martyrs. 

For  years  the  European  and  American  public  discussed  in 
eulogy  and  praise  Li  Hung  Chang,  whom  they  called  the  "Grand 
Old  Man  of  China !"  History  has  proven  that  Li  Hung  Chang 
was  a  traitor  to  his  country,  and  much  of  the  foreign  aspersion 
of  Chinese  officials  comes  from  the  operations  of  that  truckling, 
piratical  school  whose  recognized  head  and  master  was  Li 
Hung  Chang. 

Under  such  a  betrayal  of  their  interests,  can  we  wonder  at 
the  indignant  but  patriotic  outburst  of  the  Chinese  against 
the  danger  which  threatened  them? 

Yes!  By  natural  impulse  the  Chinese  have  shown  them- 
selves to  be  as  large  minded  as  we.  Comparisons  are  always 
odious,  and  racial  comparison  offensive,  and  the  thought  of  a 
white  man  admitting  in  any  way  the  superiority  of  another 
race  is  with  us  almost  a  misdemeanor. 


Everyday  China  57 


There  is  none  of  the  yellow  dog  about  the  Chinese.  They 
are  thoroughbreds.  For  centuries  the  Chinese  have  had  the 
custom  of  giving  their  daughters  in  marriage  to  well  recom- 
mended strangers,  the  more  distant  and  stranger  the  better. 
This  is  still  the  custom.  The  magnitude  of  their  cities  made 
this  convenient  and  possible.  The  bride,  with  her  new  and 
different  ideas,  became  an  education  to  her  husband,  enlarging 
his  mental  horizon  to  new  purposes  of  life.  She,  in  her  turn, 
found  in  this  stranger  man,  her  husband — whom  she  had  never 
seen  before  she  arrived  at  his  home  with  her  bed  and  clothing, 
for  there  is  never  any  ceremony  of  marriage  as  with  us  among 
the  Chinese,  the  bride  being  merely  escorted  to  the  house  of  the 
bridegroom — finds  a  wonderful  world  in  his  recital  of  his  family 
associations,  of  his  own  ambition  and  aims  in  life.  With  us 
marriage  is  a  mere  question  of  sentiment  and  convenience;  with 
the  Chinese  it  is  a  means  of  reviving  the  sluggishness  of  an 
ancient  race,  and  then  besides  there  are  no  alimony  hunters 
in  China. 

I  do  not  defend  the  Chinese  custom  of  marriage.  For  me 
there  is  only  one  marriage — that  which,  conceived  in  love  and 
respect,  is  ended  only  by  death  itself.  But  last  night  as  I 
was  eating  my  dinner  in  a  Shanghai  hotel  dining  room,  where 
a  rich  coal  merchant,  a  Chinese,  was  presiding  at  a  table 
with  four  wives — a  very  remarkable  occurrence  in  public  even 
in  these  reform  days — my  reflections  led  me  to  a  more  tolerant 
excuse  for  the  doomed  institution  of  secondary  wives.  His 
mother — to  whom  I  was  afterwards  introduced — sat  at  one 
end  of  the  table,  he  at  the  other.  His  primary  wife  sat  to 
the  left  of  the  mother  and  the  secondary  wives  occupied  the 
intermediate  positions.  He  looked  like  the  precocious  father 
of  a  grown  family  of  daughters  in  his  rich  and  voluminous 
folds  of  brocade  and  satin.  The  fingers  of  the  mother  were 
covered  with  diamonds;  the  wives  had  none.  Every  plate  was 
passed  to  the  old  lady  before  any  of  the  wives  could  partake 


58      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

of  it.  When  she  spoke  everyone  stopped  eating  and  listened. 
Her  head  was  bald  and  she  was  bent  with  age,  but  she  had  the 
consideration  of  all  at  that  table  as  though  she  were  a  young, 
beautiful,  enthroned  princess.  When  she  finished  they  all 
promptly  concluded  their  own  meal  and,  followed  by  her  son 
and  his  four  wives,  she  proudly  left  the  room. 

Two  years  or  even  one  year  ago  such  a  spectacle  would 
have  been  impossible  in  this  country.  A  Chinese  never  even 
speaks  of  his  female  relatives,  of  his  mother,  sister  or  wife. 
ITow  wonderful  to  see  them  then  coming  now  into  public  hotel 
dining  rooms  in  this  manner!  And  how  more  wonderful  this 
ancient  reverence  for  the  mother.  Even  the  polygamous  rela- 
tion was  somewhat  extenuated  by  the  respect  for  that  old 
decrepit  woman. 

Years  ago  in  Salt  Lake  City  I  engaged  in  conversation 
with  one  of  the  apostles  of  the  Mormon  Church.  He  frankly 
discussed  the  tenets  of  his  faith,  and  among  other  things  said : 
"Yes,  polygamy  is  a  useful  system  because  under  it  every  man 
is  held  responsible  for  the  misconduct  of  women.  There  can 
be  no  fallen  women  among  us !"  His  assertion  struck  me  with 
such  ridicule  that  I  could  hardly  suppress  a  laugh.  The 
Chinese  have  no  such  silly  excuse  to  give  for  their  iniquitous 
practice  of  modified  polygamy.  They  have  the  sounder  and 
better  reason,  which  in  a  small  measure  mitigates  the  wicked- 
ness and  turpitude  of  the  custom,  the  consideration  of  the 
family  and  its  perpetuation  as  a  part  of  the  greater  family, 
the  tribe  in  which  all  are  subject  to  the  certain  authority  of 
wisdom  as  obtained  by  age. 

And  before  we  go  back  to  the  window  again,  let  me  say  a 
few  words  more  about  what  I  said  concerning  the  Chinese 
quality  of  being  a  thoroughbred.  In  America  we  boast  fre- 
quently of  our  melting-pot  and  the  excellent  quality  of  racial 
metal  which  its  fused  mixture  is  bringing  us.  The  British, 
Germans,  Latins,  the  new  strange  peoples  of  the  Balkan  States, 


Everyday  China  59 


the  Finns,  Greeks,  and  all  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  brought 
together  in  one  common  race !  How  strong  and  wonderful  it 
must  eventually  appear  by  the  very  force  of  its  admixture! 
Such  is  frequently  the  popular  rhapsody.  The  truth  really  is 
that  from  homogeneous  crossings  alone  can  racial  development 
in  man  be  perfected.  As  a  young  lawyer  commencing  his  prac- 
tice in  the  criminal  courts  of  Chicago,  I  was  surprised  to 
find  that  the  majority  of  my  clients  who  were  guilty  were 
the  offspring  of  widely  divergent  nationalities,  and  I  became 
convinced  that  the  melting-pot  theory  of  racial  benefit  was  an 
hallucination. 

The  Jews  are  to  us  in  Europe  and  America  what  the 
Chinese  are  to  the  world,  a  strong,  virile,  well  developed  race 
whose  long  intermingling  admixture  has  improved  rather  than 
impaired  the  individual  virility  of  its  members.  The  Chinese, 
with  the  Jews,  are  the  only  pure  races  on  the  globe  today. 
With  purety  of  race  comes  that  tenacity  and  vigor  which  defies 
the  ravages  of  war  and  surmounts  every  obstacle  placed  in  the 
road  of  its  eventual  progress.  Destroy  every  semblance  of 
Chinese  autonomy  and  they  will  still  prosper  and  increase  in 
power  and  multiply  in  numbers  just  as  they  have  done  in  the 
United  States,  even  in  spite  of  the  most  radical  exclusive  and 
disfranchising  laws  history  has  ever  known.  Like  the  Jews, 
mere  political  organization  is  not  much  of  a  hindrance  to  their 
steady  development  even  when  used  as  a  machine  of  persecution 
against  them.  The  Chinese  are  too  pure  a  race  to  be  de- 
pendent upon  the  casual  vicissitudes  of  politics.  There  is  a 
great  chance  that  they  will  eventually  and  for  a  long  time 
control  the  world  by  the  very  tenacity  of  their  racial  instincts. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

FROM  THE  YANGTSE  TO  PEKING 

Pukow,  the  new  railway  terminus  opposite  Nankin,  gives 
the  same  impression  of  great  possibilities  that  many  other 
railway-made  towns  in  China  now  indicate  and  which  have 
been  touched  in  the  wilderness  of  their  desolation  by  the  magic 
wand  of  modern  transportation. 

With  readjusted  laws  of  land  conveyancing,  their  local  town 
booms  under  the  clever  management  of  real  estate  agents  and 
promoters,  a  class  which  does  not  as  yet  exist  in  China,  but 
which  will  when  eventually  organized  repeat  the  wonderful 
work  and  obtain  even  larger  profits  than  have  the  well  rewarded 
thousands  of  land  owners  and  agents  in  America.  Some  of  the 
largest  fortunes  of  the  new  China  will  be  made  out  of  the 
rapid  increment  of  land  values,  and  the  forebears  of  many 
a  future  Chinese  millionaire  are  now  plodding  behind  primitive 
ploughs  over  worn-out  land  which  some  day  will  become  the 
site  of  villages  and  cities. 

Pukow  is  now  only  an  agglomeration  of  miserable  mat  hovels, 
the  quarters  of  the  railway  coolies.  The  long  white  line  of 
the  engineer's  messes  and  lodgings  loom  up  in  the  foggy  Decem- 
ber morning  as  we  stand  amid  the  huge  piles  of  bagged  rice 
and  soya  beans,  with  the  lines  of  cars  covered  with  the  frost 
which  will  rapidly  disappear  under  the  warmth  of  the  rising 
sun.  The  shimmering  Yangtse  is  wonderfully  wide  with  its 
broad  expanse  covered  with  junks,  merchant  ships  and  foreign 
men-of-war  and  with  great  landing  hulks  of  dismantled  vessels 
on  the  Nankin  side. 

As  the  fog  disperses  we  look  with  delight  upon  the  purple 
hills,  almost  unnatural  in  their  deep  brilliancy  as  their  color 
deepens  with  the  advance  of  the  sun. 

There  was  only  an  express  train  twice  a  week  between 

60 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  61 

Pukow  and  Tientsin,  and  as  this  did  not  allow  any  chance 
for  sightseeing,  even  against  the  advice  of  our  friends  we  took 
the  local  train  which  jogged  along  in  a  sort  of  a  jerk-water 
fashion  during  the  day  hours  and  then  as  it  were  tied  up  for 
the  night.  The  rolling  stock  of  the  railway  had  been  very  badly 
used  by  the  soldiers  transported  during  the  Revolution.  The 
windows  and  doors  in  our  first  class  compartment  were  so 
poorly  fitted,  allowing  draughts  to  blow  through  unmercifully, 
that  we  made  frequent  visits  to  the  second  class  compartments 
to  warm  ourselves  up  between  intervals  of  shivering.  These 
visits  greatly  added  to  the  interest  of  the  voyage,  and  coming 
and  going  we  were  always  greeted  by  the  most  cordial  and 
good  natured  curiosity.  A  young  Chinese  engineer,  whom 
hardly  anyone  would  have  taken  for  an  Asiatic  in  his  European 
tweed  and  fashionable  haberdashery,  carrying  a  crop,  took  great 
pleasure  in  showing  us  the  points  of  interest  as  we  were  going 
along.  Crowning  the  hillside  to  the  right  was  the  inevitable 
pagoda,  while  beyond  stretched  the  plains  on  towards  the 
empurpled  mountains  of  the  distance. 

Great  commotion  of  earnest  talking  in  one  part  of  the  car 
aroused  our  interest.  A  Chinese  passenger  with  a  third  class 
ticket  concluded  that  as  the  third  class  was  crowded  he  was 
entitled  to  ride  second  class.  So  with  his  baskets  and  bundles 
he  comfortably  ensconced  himself,  only  to  have  his  dream  of 
ease  disturbed  by  the  guards.  The  fellow  put  up  such  a 
good  argument  concerning  the  injustice  of  letting  the  second 
class  go  vacant  when  the  third  class  did  not  give  sufficient 
accommodation  that  he  consumed  about  an  hour  in  his  defense 
which,  although  admitting  the  technical  correctness  of  the 
guard's  position,  elegantly  dwelt  upon  the  natural  justice  of 
his  right  to  ride  second  class.  Finally,  in  the  midst  of  the 
argument,  the  fellow  got  up  and  with  superb  dignity  stalked 
back  to  the  third  class,  evidently  with  a  very  contemptuous 
estimate  of  railway  order. 


62      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

The  Chinese  are  very  susceptible  to  plausible  argument 
which  appeals  to  their  natural  sense  of  justice.  When  the 
bombs  were  thrown  at  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  at  Tientsin  the  soldiers 
immediately  made  a  number  of  arrests  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
bomb  throwing,  among  them  being  a  Chinese,  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  real  culprits,  who,  loudly  complaining  against  his 
arrest,  asked  them  what  proof  they  had  to  warrant  such  action. 

"I  have  no  bomb,"  said  he.  "Why  don't  you  search  for 
those  who  have  some  of  the  guilty  instruments  in  their  posses- 
sion?" 

The  fellow  was  so  eloquent  with  this  and  other  arguments 
that  the  guards,  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  released 
him.  Of  course  he  had  no  bomb  because  he  had  thrown  his. 

At  one  of  the  stations  as  we  rode  along,  I  noticed  the 
ludicrous  spectacle  of  some  soldiers  marching  a  prisoner  toward 
the  guard  car.  The  prisoner,  who  had  no  towchang,  had  his. 
tousled  long  hair  very  neatly  plaited  into  the  end  of  the  rope 
with  which  the  guards  restrained  him.  Someone  in  the  crowd 
laughingly  remarked: 

"Now  you  know  why  the  Manchu  made  us  wear  the  queue. 
They  made  us  carry  our  own  rope  to  hold  and  strangle  us 
with,"  and  they  all  laughed,  even  the  prisoner  as  he  was 
bundled  into  the  guard  coach  probably  on  his  way  to  death. 

Wherever  the  railroad  has  made  a  cut,  cones  of  dirt  are 
left  to  show  the  depth  of  the  excavation  as  a  standing  record 
of  measurement,  a  wise  precaution  which  shows  how  new 
China  is  trying  to  break  away  from  the  squeeze  of  extortionate 
contract  work. 

A  large  part  of  the  country  through  which  we  passed  after 
leaving  Pukow  is  subject  to  those  discouraging  inundations 
which  have  been  the  scourge  of  China  since  its  earliest  history. 
These  people  can  indeed  sympathize  with  at  least  one  part  of 
the  Old  Testament — the  narration  of  Noah's  Flood — for  anni- 
hilating and  devastating  floods  form  a  part  of  every  generation 


A  common  road  bridge.  A.  glimpse  of  China — fair  even  in  winter. 

\Boys  who  do  men's  work  on  baby  rations.  Their  first   aeroplane. 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  63 

of  their  history.  Certain  Christian  biblical  historians  find, 
in  the  great  flood  which  was  recorded  in  the  reign  of  Shun, 
a  recital  of  Noah's  Flood  nearly  four  thousand  years  ago. 

The  day,  still  distant  and  removed,  but  nevertheless  certain, 
will  surely  come  when  all  the  surplus  waters  of  China  will 
prove  her  blessing  rather  than  her  scourge,  and  rivers  flowing 
through  deserts,  too  deep  in  their  channels  to  serve  for  irriga- 
tion, will  be  eventually  engineered  to  the  lasting  benefit  and 
further  enrichment  of  China. 

The  Chinese  farmer's  life  looks  much  more  wholesome 
than  that  of  his  brother  in  the  city,  although  the  farmer's 
surroundings  are  far  from  being  what  they  should  be.  His 
house,  out-buildings  and  farm  yards  are  all  enclosed  in  a 
high  wall  of  roughly  hewn  stone,  filled  and  plastered  with 
clay.  The  buildings  are  built  low  of  the  same  material,  adobe 
in  appearance,  thatched  with  straw,  frequently  joined  in  a 
workmanlike,  neat  fashion  at  the  outside  edges  with  a  sort 
of  a  ridge  trimming  of  plaster  trimly  set. 

His  life  and  that  of  his  family  is  a  very  hard  one,  much 
of  the  labor  which  could  be  saved  by  modern  farm  implements 
being  crudely  and  painfully  performed  with  the  help  of  the 
rudest  tools.  There  is  a  great  scarcity  of  beasts  of  burden. 
The  picture  of  a  farmer  with  a  donkey  yoked  to  a  bullock 
trying  to  carry  his  produce  over  an  almost  impassable  road 
in  a  large  wheelbarrow,  the  donkey  pulling  one  way  and  the 
bullock  another,  while  he  strains  every  nerve  and  muscle  to 
keep  the  wheelbarrow  upright,  is  a  common  and  laughable 
feature  in  the  provinces.  His  recourse  to  the  most  sulphurous 
profanity  would  seem  justified  and  a  comparatively  virtuous 
indulgence  on  such  occasions. 

The  fields,  beautifully  cultivated  with  all  the  finished  effect 
which  only  hand  labor  can  procure,  are  frequently  broken  by 
a  family  cemetery  with  its  rows  of  mounds,  the  highest  wall 
being  that  of  the  chief  ancestor  with  a  circular  ridge  for 


64      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Feng  Sui.  The  whole  is  evenly  marked  as  a  geometrical  design. 
Up  to  these  graves  the  farmer  cultivates  as  nearly  as  he  can 
without  disrespect  to  the  dead. 

Under  the  hard  conditions  of  his  surroundings  it  is  little 
wonder  that  to  increase  the  number  of  workers  the  boys  are 
niarried  off  when  very  young  to  bring  another  working  adult 
into  the  family  in  the  struggle  for  existence. 

Nganhui  and  Kiangsu  Provinces  particularly  partake  of 
China's  characteristic  of  tree  barrenness,  but  the  monotony  of 
the  plains  is  broken  by  the  variety  of  the  color  of  the  soil 
which,  by  its  composition  and  the  refraction  of  light,  brings 
out  the  terra  cotta,  mahogany  or  rich  brown  with  stretches  of 
purple,  and  even  here  and  there  a  patch  of  chalky  white  in 
those  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  lands  are  mostly  bare  of 
the  vivid  green  of  the  growing  crops.  Over  the  fields  pass 
the  indigo  colored  gowns  of  the  farmers  and  their  family,  busy 
even  in  the  winter  time  with  the  precious  soil  to  which  they 
look  gratefully  for  their  subsistence.  All  Chinese  farmers 
seem  to  be  truck  gardeners  as  well.  I  have  looked  with  wonder 
on  many  an  acre  of  crisp  salad  plants  growing  up  out  of 
the  apparently  frozen  soil. 

These  blue  gowns  are  in  every  shade  of  light  royal  and  dark 
navy,  the  faded  light  blue  and  the  fresh  color  of  the  new  gar- 
ments contrasting  beautifully  upon  the  newly  tilled  fields  or 
the  occasionally  flaming  green  of  a  winter  growth. 

The  lot  of  the  farmer  is  so  hard  that  history  repeats  itself 
here  as  elsewhere,  in  that  the  sons  leave  their  farm  homes  for 
work  in  the  cities.  Eailway  building  is  a  blessing  to  them. 
We  look  with  interest  at  the  gangs  of  coolies  who,  for  ten 
cents  gold  daily,  perform  ten  hours  of  hard  labor.  It  was 
Sunday  to  us  but  no  Sunday  to  them.  Time  is  too  precious 
to  the  Chinese  and  the  machinery  of  their  lives  too  complicated 
with  demands  to  admit  of  Sunday.  Only  twice  during  the  lunar 
month,  at  its  beginning  and  at  full  moon,  certain  of  the 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  65 

hardest  worked  crafts,  by  the  sheer  necessity  of  their  fatigue, 
take  a  holiday,  but  the  mercantile  life  rolls  on  as  usual,  and 
it  is  only  at  New  Year  that  a  vacation  is  indulged  in  to 
balance  accounts  and  recreate  in  family  reunions  and  assem- 
blings. 

In  their  patched  gowns  of  blue,  their  bare  legs  and  feet 
red  with  the  blustering  wind,  the  coolies  frequently  make  a 
pathetic  picture.  But  they  are  never  sorry  for  themselves. 
With  all  their  hardships  they  smile  and  show  their  white 
clean  teeth  in  a  perfect  exuberance  of  good  nature.  The  com- 
monest coolie  cleans  his  teeth  twice  daily.  It  is  the  one  in- 
dulgence in  cleanliness  of  which  even  their  most  indigent 
poverty  cannot  deprive  them. 

They  perform  their  labor  with  lighter  tools  than  we,  with 
longer  handles  for  the  leverage,  and  they  work  correspondingly 
quicker.  They  do  not  use  the  wheelbarrow  for  carrying  earth 
or  heavy  material  as  we.  In  its  place  they  employ  light  bowls 
and  small  baskets  swung  from  the  shoulders.  Each  coolie  works 
largely  for  himself  and  to  himself.  There  is  little  gang  direc- 
tion. Each  worker  merely  follows  along  in  the  endless  human 
chain  until  the  task  is  completed  by  their  common  effort. 
Every  individual,  however,  is  jealous  of  his  right  to  use  his 
own  intelligence  in  the  manner  of  his  endeavor. 

In  India's  capital  even,  I  have  seen  women  earth  carriers  on 
the  government  contract  work  of  the  Qutab  Minar  cruelly  lashed 
into  line  by  the  overseers,  a  thing  which  would  be  impossible 
in  China. 

In  Canton  I  watched  one  of  these  strange  river  tread- 
wheel  boats.  Although  the  coolie  treaders  kept  step  as  they 
rose  up  from  one  tread  to  another,  there  was  none  of  that 
deadlock  stamp  in  their  work  which  we  boastfully  call  discipline. 
One  of  the  most  hopeful  assurances  in  China's  rapid  progress  is 
found  in  the  independence  and  intelligence  of  its  enormous 
laboring  classes  who,  never  having  been  enslaved  by  feudalism  nor 


66      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

dominated  by  the  depressing  influence  of  a  profligate  nobility 
or  domineering  aristocracy,  preserve  their  self-respect  and  man- 
hood more  than  any  other  Oriental  nation. 

At  times  the  country  seems  strangely  like  theNebraskan 
and  other  Western  and  recently  preempted  plains,  but  the 
fields  are  in  smaller  patches  and  separated  by  ridges  of  un- 
ploughed  land  instead  of  fences.  Here  and  there  we  may  per- 
haps see  a  beautifully  arched  stone  bridge  standing  in  the 
midst  of  cultivated  land  with  no  road  leading  to  or  from  it; 
no  water  course  beneath  it,  a  strange  emblem  of  some  long 
bygone  day.  In  a  few  places  there  are  stone  monuments  of 
men  and  animals  larger  than  life  and  sometimes  inscribed 
pillars  upon  a  tortoise  base  likewise  standing  in  the  midst  of 
the  otherwise  vacant  fields. 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  reflections  of  the  voyage  on  this 
railway  passing  through  the  three  provinces  of  Xganhui, 
Kiangsu  and  Shantung,  is  that  few  women  are  to  be  found 
doing  coolie  labor  as  in  other  Oriental  countries.  During  my 
several  visits  to  Japan  I  saw  perhaps  a  hundredfold  more  of 
coolie  women  laborers  than  in  China.  Even  in  some  parts  of 
Europe,  particularly  in  the  Balkan  States,  I  have  seen  more 
women  laborers  than  among  the  Chinese. 

But  the  sad  sight  of  a  decrepit  old  woman,  whose  patched 
rags  hardly  cover  her  shriveled  limbs,  begging  in  a  plaintive 
voice  with  shrunken  arm  outstretched  as  she  balances  herself  on 
her  hoof-like  distorted  stumps  of  bound  feet  by  the  aid  of  her 
cane,  is  unfortunately  ever  frequent.  Some  of  them,  too  proud 
to  beg,  peddle  cakes  and  pickled  eggs  of  a  foreboding  green 
color  or  crackling  fritters  fresh  from  the  griddle. 

But  the  distress  at  the  sight  of  these  unfortunate  women  is 
overcome  by  looking  at  their  more  fortunate  sisters  in  the 
coaches.  One  of  them,  a  fine  featured  young  woman  with  a 
beautiful  babe,  presses  upon  us  presents  of  thorn  dates  with 
millet  and  small  sugared  apples.  All  the  women  in  the  car  evince 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  67 

a  lively  interest  in  us,  particularly  in  my  wife.  One  young 
woman  who,  with  her  livid  painted  face  to  the  window  and 
her  trousers  drawn  tight,  however,  sleeps  on  unconscious  of  the 
grotesque  picture  she  offers  to  us  until  she  is  finally  awakened 
to  join  in  the  jollity  with  the  Occidentals,  smilingly  taking 
the  elaborate  silver  pipe  tendered  her  by  her  maid  and  draw- 
ing a  few  diminutive  puffs  while  absorbing  the  novelty  of  our 
appearance  with  pleasure.  They  are  all  delighted  with  the 
books  we  show  them. 

Every  passenger  has  his  pot  of  tea  replenished  from  time 
to  time,  and  steaming  towels  are  passed  out  by  the  train  boy 
to  refresh  by  wiping  the  face  and  hands,  an  indulgence  in 
which  we  found  no  favor.  We  practiced  our  Mandarin  Chinese 
and,  far  from  being  amused  at  our  mistakes,  they  entered  very 
heartily  into  the  role  of  an  instructor  from  our  conversation 
book. 

How  curious  this  coach  interior!  New  found  friends  com- 
ing and  going  with  every  station !  Women  with  trousers ! 
Men  with  skirts!  The  painted  faces  of  girls  and  women  in 
a  circle  with  the  beardless  faces  of  men,  all  friendly  and  cour- 
teous. As  they  would  leave  at  the  different  stations,  in  sedan 
chairs  or  strolling  away  with  groups  of  friends,  sometimes  they 
would  pause  to  wave  us  a  good-bye.  "Mountains  cannot  meet, 
but  men  must  meet,"  sang  the  old  Persian  poet,  and  traveling 
in  good  natured  China  frequently  suggests  this  verse. 

At  the  noon  hour  we  went  into  the  dining  car  where  we 
were  disappointed  in  having  none  but  European  dishes,  the 
delicious  Chinese  food  being  entirely  lacking,  even  to  the  sauce 
which  to  them  generally  takes  the  place  of  the  salt  and  pepper. 
When  I  asked  for  some  of  it  the  waiter  proudly  told  me  that 
their  food  was  all  European  and  produced  a  bottle  of  Worces- 
tershire sauce  in  the  place  of  the  desired  Chinese  article.  We 
were  passing  through  a  wonderful  game  country  where  duck 
and  heron  frequently  speckled  the  sky.  The  poor  farmer,  how- 


68      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

ever,  cannot  replenish  his  larder  from  the  abundance  of  these 
fowl,  since  he  is  not  allowed  to  possess  firearms  and  has  little 
time  to  attend  to  his  primitive  traps.  Herons  were  served, 
heads,  bills  and  all,  but  so  great  was  our  pleasure  in  watching 
these  beautiful  birds  that  we  hadn't  the  heart  nor  the  appetite 
to  pick  out  what  little  flesh  there  was  on  their  slender  bodies. 

After  tiring  of  the  loneliness  of  our  first  class  coach  we 
again  returned  to  the  second  class  where  we  noticed  a  fine  look- 
ing military  cadet,  very  proud  of  his  long  sword,  immaculately 
uniformed  with  tassels  and  spotless  white  gloves.  After  awhile 
the  janitor  of  the  car,  whose  chief  duty  was  to  attend  to  the 
fires,  came  along  and,  throwing  himself  on  the  double  seat  by 
the  cadet,  was  soon  lost  in  sleep.  The  relaxation  of  his  limbs 
as  he  slept  crowded  the  cadet,  who  indignantly  awoke  him  to 
call  his  attention  to  the  unjustifiable  trespass. 

Without  any  show  of  anger  the  awakened  porter  gave  a 
contemptuous  look  at  the  soldier  and  then  readjusted  his  posi- 
tion even  a  little  closer  to  him,  and  again  went  to  sleep. 

Why  not  ?  He  was  tired  with  his  labor !  The  cadet  was  in 
no  need  of  rest  and  if  he  did  not  respect  labor  enough  to 
move  to  another  seat  it  was  time  that  he  learned.  So  under 
the  pretense  of  being  asleep  the  porter  finally  crowded  his  long 
limbs  over  against  the  soldier  until,  with  his  sword,  white 
gloves  and  all,  he  was  forced  to  leave  the  seats  to  the  grimy 
porter  who,  with  his  mouth  open  and  clutching  a  monkey 
wrench  in  his  dirty  hand,  spread  himself  out  in  languid  ease 
with  a  satisfied  yawn. 

As  a  child  I  remember  someone  saying  that  all  Chinese  look 
alike.  They  only  look  alike  until  one  is  really  familiar  with 
the  racial  types,  when  they  show  as  much  individuality  in  fea- 
tures and  personality  as  we  ourselves.  I  remember  my  first  im- 
pressions of  the  native  Annamites  in  French  Indo-China,  whose 
sex  at  first  I  could  not  determine  since  both  sexes  dress  and 
wear  their  hair  alike.  It  was  only  a  short  time,  however,  before 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  69 

I  could  readily  distinguish  between  them,  regardless  of  their 
similarity  of  clothing  and  hairdress.  So  it  is  with  the  Chinese 
in  a  measure,  for  the  monotonous  sameness  of  the  hair  arrange- 
ment of  both  sexes,  although  different  for  each  sex,  and  the 
lack  of  variety  in  the  cut  and  color  of  garments,  make  their 
types  at  first  appear  somewhat  confusing. 

The  so-called  oblique  eyes,  considered  a  characteristic  of 
the  Chinese  race,  is  not  at  all  unvarying  and  pronounced.  Sit- 
ting in  a  car  where  you  can  study  their  faces,  you  would  be 
surprised  at  the  number  of  types  approaching  ours.  As  a  gen- 
eral rule  they  have,  however,  eyes  very  brown  or  black  and  set 
bead-like  in  their  sockets  and  not  frequently  sunken  as  with 
us,  but  set  out  on  a  line  with  their  straight  foreheads  and 
with  less  eyebrows  and  lashes  than  with  the  white  race. 

But  this  type  is  not  always  fixed.  I  have  seen  rickshaw 
men  whose  thin  features  and  eyes  deep  sunk  with  fatigue  made 
them  into  something  of  our  type.  European  clothes  cause  them 
to  lose  much  of  their  supposed  great  difference  from  us.  Many 
Chinese  women  in  European  clothes  would  pass  in  Europe  for 
handsome  brunettes,  for  the  possibilities  of  hair  arrangement 
give  women  more  opportunities  to  approach  certain  of  our 
types  than  men.  It  is,  however,  surprising  how  many  Chinese 
soldiers  would  be  mistaken  for  European  soldiers  by  their  pro- 
nounced features  alone.  Eventually  they  will  more  nearly  re- 
semble us  than  the  Japanese,  for  their  proportions  of  body  and 
stature  are  more  similar  to  ours. 

The  study  of  the  disappearance  of  the  queue  is  interesting. 
Wherever  the  Revolution  has  made  itself  felt  the  towchang  has 
disappeared.  Europeans  who  are  anti-Republican  occasionally 
encourage  their  servants  to  keep  their  towchang,  and  I  know 
of  one  who  foolishly  considered  it  a  personal  affront  to  him- 
self when  some  revolutionary  soldiers  seized  his  servant  and 
cut  off  his  queue.  We  found  few  towchang s  in  Nankin,  but  as 
we  got  farther  away  from  the  Yangtse  there  was  hardly  a 


70      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

queueless  head  to  be  found  outside  of  the  soldier's  ranks.  A 
Mandarin  got  on  at  a  station  in  Nganhui  Province,  he  and 
all  of  his  guards  wearing  queues.  When  I  spoke  to  him  of  his 
queue  he  laughed  and  merely  said  that  the  change  of  custom 
had  not  reached  his  part  of  China  yet.  In  Peking,  even  a  year 
after  the  Revolution,  and  in  spite  of  both  Republican  and 
Manchu  being  against  its  wearing,  hardly  one  out  of  ten  among 
civilians  had  cut  off  his  towchang.  The  Chinese,  with  their 
usual  caution,  believe  that  it  is  easier  to  keep  a  towchang  than 
to  grow  a  new  one,  but  with  a  year  or  so  more  of  de  facto  test 
of  the  Republican  government  the  Manchu  emblem  of  sub- 
mission will  disappear. 

When  we  think  that  the  Chinese  have  worn  the  queue  since 
the  days  of  American  Colonial  witchcraft  hanging,  and  that  it 
has  been  during  all  that  time  the  badge  of  civil  respectability 
of  which  the  person  convicted  of  misdemeanor  was  immediately 
deprived  as  a  part  of  his  punishment,  we  can  readily  under- 
stand how  reluctant  some  Chinese  are  to  part  with  it  until 
indeed  satisfied  that  the  new  order  of  government  will  protect 
them  in  its  loss. 

Early  in  the  evening  we  arrived  at  Suchefu,  where  the  train 
stopped  for  the  night.  The  gloomy  prospect  of  having  to  spend 
the  long,  tedious  wait  on  the  earthen  floor  of  some  Chinese  inn 
was  banished  by  the  appearance  of  a  sleeping  car  which,  warmed 
and  immaculate,  had  been  side-tracked  for  the  accommodation  of 
travelers. 

About  Suchefu  spreads  the  usual  winter  landscape  of  that 
part  of  China — bare,  brown  and  gray  hills  and  plains,  with 
hardly  a  tree  to  break  the  expanse  of  vacant  farm  land  between 
the  railroad  station  and  the  high  wall  of  the  city  which,  in 
a  long  unbroken  line,  rose  up  in  the  cold  dawn  over  the  gloomy 
plain  now  so  easily  invaded  by  the  railroad  after  an  eternity 
of  isolation.  Above  the  walls  appear  the  form  of  hills  within 
the  city,  surmounted  Chinese-like  by  pagodas,  one  standing  as 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  71 

a  sentinel  alone  upon  its  eminence,  reminding  me  of  the  loneli- 
ness of  an  abandoned  castle  crag  such  as  I  have  seen  on  long 
rambles  in  Southern  Spain.  The  other  pagoda  is  a  part  of 
a  group  of  buildings,  about  which  trees  spread  their  branches, 
the  whole  making  a  very  pretty  picture  even  in  winter  time. 
The  steeples  of  a  large  church,  together  with  the  spreading 
roofs  of  the  city  gates,  complete  and  enclose  the  extent  of 
Suchefu  which,  like  many  Chinese  cities,  is  more  lovely  when 
viewed  from  without  than  when  closely  inspected  within,  as 
it  lies  in  the  plain  with  the  abrupt  purpled  mountains,  pin- 
nacled and  mirage  like,  forming  a  background  in  the  far  dis- 
tance. 

We  started  off  on  our  second  day's  journey  with  the  water 
frozen  in  the  wash  basin  and  the  floor  slippery  with  icy  mop- 
ping. About  noon  we  inquired  as  to  prospects  of  obtaining 
food  and  were  told  that  the  excellent  dining  car  of  the  day 
before  had  been  left  behind,  but  that  we  could  obtain  our 
luncheon  in  the  improvised  diner  attached  for  that  purpose. 

In  my  visits  to  nearly  every  principal  country  on  the  globe 
I  have  had  some  rather  interesting  experiences  with  things  I 
have  eaten  and  with  places  where  I  have  eaten  them,  but  as 
an  unusual  and  exciting  experience  I  believe  that  my  attempt 
to  provide  my  wife  with  a  meal  in  this  improvised  dining  car 
will  ever  stand  out  foremost  in  my  recollection. 

With  appetites  whetted  sharp  by  the  keen  air  we  repaired 
to  the  so-called  dining  car,  which  evidently  during  the  Revolu- 
tion had  been  used  as  a  sort  of  an  ambulatory  officer's  mess. 
It  was  a  mere  steel  freight  truck,  roughly  mounted  without 
springs,  compared  with  the  motion  of  which  a  lumber  wagon 
going  over  a  pile  of  cobble-stones  would  be  poetry  itself.  Some 
windows  in  ill-fitting  frames  had  been  set  into  the  sides  of 
this  freight  car,  and  a  couple  of  loose  sliding  doors  placed  at 
either  end.  The  noise  made  by  this  peculiarly  adapted  car 
was  as  deafening  as  the  rattle  of  a  rolling  mill.  Guiding  our- 


72      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

selves  by  hanging  onto  the  tables,  riveted  ship-like  to  the  floor, 
we  reached  the  places  assigned  to  us  where  fresh  linen  was  the 
only  sign  of  preparation  for  the  meal.  We  soon  understood 
why  no  further  service  was  set,  for  as  soon  as  the  plates,  knives 
and  forks  were  laid  upon  the  table  there  commenced  such  a 
devil's  dance  among  them  that  we  had  all  we  could  do  to 
keep  them  from  jumping  away,  the  oil  and  vinegar  cruets 
fairly  leaping  out  of  their  holders.  A  boy  was  detailed  to  hold 
the  articles  down,  and  we  proceeded  to  "enjoy"  our  meal  as 
best  we  could,  yelling  out  our  needs  to  the  waiter  at  the  top 
of  our  voices  but  hardly  piercing  the  roaring  confusion  about 
us,  stabbing  with  knives,  spearing  with  forks,  grasping  at  this 
dish  and  then  at  another,  as  the  car  lurched  from  side  to  side, 
dashing  madly  onward  like  a  doomed  ship  in  the  clutch  of  a 
storm.  Amid  all  this  pandemonium  the  cook,  from  his  galley 
in  the  corner  of  the  car  with  an  assistant  to  keep  his  pots 
and  pans  together,  imperturbably  and  smilingly  watched  the 
progress  of  our  meal,  a  great  joint  of  beef  banging  back  and 
forth  over  his  head,  while  occasionally  boiling  water  would 
splash  from  the  kettle  which  his  assistant  held  in  its  place 
with  a  poker.  We  had  to  finally  give  up  in  despair  to  wait 
for  the  next  stop.  While  waiting,  however,  we  were  informed 
that  the  car  might  be  taken  off  at  the  following  station,  so 
with  renewed  courage  we  bravely  tackled  the  omelet  served 
us  which  finally,  in  spite  of  all  our  precautions,  in  a  sudden 
lurch  of  the  car  spilled  out  over  our  clothes  closely  followed 
by  the  butter  and  condiment  dishes.  After  this  we  decided 
that  we  had  had  enough,  and  steadied  our  way  back  in  a  dazed, 
bewildered  condition,  glad  to  get  out  of  the  tumultuous  riot 
of  our  surroundings. 

Wheelbarrows  with  their  passenger  seats  covered  with  cloth 
in  festive  style  and  a  beautiful  sedan  chair  lined  with  high 
grade  ermine  attracted  our  attention  at  Chincifu.  The  wealthy 
Chinese  revel  in  the  fur  of  the  ermine  which  is  only  white 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  73 

upon  the  animal  itself  in  winter  time.  At  this  station  we  also 
saw  great  quantities  of  potted  plants,  flowers  and  dwarfed  trees 
in  large  earthenware  pots.  Above  the  walls  of  the  city  appears 
an  interesting  pagoda,  the  large  stories  below  being  duplicated 
by  smaller  ones  above. 

The  day,  though  bitterly  cold,  was  sunny  and  clear,  and 
we  eagerly  awaited  our  approach  to  the  pilgrimage  haunt  of 
Taichan,  the  most  ancient  and  renowned  of  all  Chinese  sacred 
hills  and  enwrapped  in  the  mantling  traditions  of  all  three  of 
Cathay's  predominating  beliefs,  Confucianism,  Taoism  and 
Buddhism,  with  its  Ling-yen-ssu  monastery  of  the  Divine  Cliff. 

The  mountains  stretched  out  around  and  about  us  like  a 
huge  lizard-shaped  dragon — the  national  emblem  of  China — 
and  which,  hard  to  understand,  holds  a  place  in  the  minds 
of  the  superstitious.  The  fabled  monster  form  changed  its 
contour  and  position  in  the  distance  as  we  approached  it.  While 
the  train  stopped  and  the  engine  went  some  distance  for  water, 
we  had  a  precious  twenty  minutes  to  inspect  the  mountain  and 
to  find  out  whether  there  were  suitable  inn  accommodations 
to  remain. 

A  large  splendid  railway  station  was  nearing  completion. 
The  town  itself  could  not  be  seen  from  the  spot  on  which  we 
stood,  nor  that  part  of  the  mountain  where  the  temples  most 
abound,  but  as  we  looked  up  at  the  solid  mass  of  Taichan 
we  wondered  at  its  sphynx-like  face  looking  out  over  the  fertile 
plain;  a  strange  fantastic  mass,  cleft  and  ridged  with  the 
courses  of  those  wild  torrents  that,  to  the  play  of  lightning's 
flash  and  the  accompaniment  of  the  thunder's  roll,  pour  down 
over  the  bald  head  and  naked  form  of  the  rock  mountain  as 
it  alone  stood  supreme  in  the  midst  of  those  terrible  displays 
of  nature,  striking  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  simple  primitive 
herders  who,  centuries  before  the  dawn  of  our  civilization, 
pastured  their  sheep  beneath  the  shadow  of  that  portentous 
creation  of  nature.  Can  we  wonder  that  those  simple  folk, 


74      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

trying  to  pierce  the  mysteries  of  the  unknown,  should  take 
this  grim  mountain  and  accept  it  as  the  eternal  abode  of  the 
Divine?  Strata  pinnacles,  fantastic  crags,  grotesque  shapes, 
which  in  the  starry  nights  took  on  the  appearance  of  spirit  forms 
and  in  the  glare  of  day  sullen  and  foreboding,  loomed  out 
with  beetling  brows  upon  the  awe-stricken  herders  beneath. 
Black  and  foreboding,  confused  in  jumbled  shapes  of  dark 
recesses  into  which  the  gleam  of  the  radiant  sun  but  cast  a 
deeper  shadow;  seared  and  scarred  as  though  it  were  eternally 
washed  by  the  mighty  unrelenting  waves  of  some  spirit  sea, 
can  we  not  understand  that,  sublime  and  unchanged  in  its 
giant  form  in  the  strange  "mountain  philosophy"  of  China,  it 
partook  of  the  supernatural  and  became  an  object  of  reverence 
to  the  simple  folk  of  ages  passed  away? 

From  the  cluster  of  mud  plastered  homes  at  its  base  we 
look  up  the  sheer  precipice  of  rugged  rock,  so  high  that  a  man 
on  the  summit  would  pass  as  an  unnoticed  speck.  What  super- 
stitions have  been  born  and  given  to  the  world  in  the  tales  of 
the  dwellers  in  these  humble  huts  of  generations  past,  as  in 
their  rude  fancy  were  woven  the  tales  of  their  mountain  idols! 
Taoism  becomes  more  comprehensible  as  we  stand  beneath 
Taichan. 

I  found  that  adequate  accommodation  for  my  wife  could 
not  be  had  at  Taichan,  so  we  continued  our  journey  on  through 
Shantung  Province,  whose  latest  cause  of  political  conspicuity 
comes  from  its  having  originated  the  Ikhetuans  or  Boxers, 
arriving  at  Tsi-nan-fu  very  late  and  very  cold.  Much  fatigued 
we  followed  our  baggage  over  the  viaduct  out  into  a  perfect 
pandemonium  of  creaky  wheelbarrows  which,  in  the  bitter  cold 
air  with  a  hundred  rickshaw  lights  throwing  their  shadows,  pro- 
duced a  strange  impression.  One  wheelbarrow  loaded  down 
heavy  with  the  bulk  of  an  enormous  Chinese  on  one  side  and 
the  equally  heavy  and  bulky  burden  of  his  baggage  on  the 
other,  got  directly  before  us  as  the  wheelbarrow  coolie  strained 


From  the  Yangtse  to  Peking  75 

from  one  side  to  another  in  an  effort  to  balance  his  quarter 
ton  load.  Suddenly  a  heavy  thud  was  heard,  and  down  went 
the  human  side  of  the  wheelbarrow  with  all  his  bags  and  boxes 
showered  upon  him,  while  the  poor  coolie  stood  a  picture  of 
despair  at  the  thought  of  having  caused  such  a  mishap.  The 
roars  of  laughter  which  came  from  all  sides  could  be  heard 
even  above  the  unearthly  creaking  of  the  wheels. 

We  went  to  one  of  the  two  German  hotels  in  Tsi-nan-fu, 
where  we  were  soon  seated  at  dinner  with  a  graphophone  play- 
ing "to  cheer  things  up"  as  the  landlord's  wife  described  it. 
At  the  table  next  to  us  sat  a  couple  whom  I  at  first  thought 
to  be  a  wealthy  Chinese  lad  and  his  tutor.  As  the  meal  pro- 
gressed, however,  my  attention  was  called  to  the  small  bound 
feet  beneath  the  table  and  the  diamonded  fingers,  when  I  imme- 
diately knew  that  the  "lad"  really  was  a  modern  Chinese  wife, 
taking  dinner  a  la  Europeenne. 

There  was  a  party  of  card  players,  German  merchants,  to 
whom  we  said  good-night  upon  going  to  bed.  When  we  came 
out  the  next  morning  about  four  o'clock  to  catch  the  train 
for  our  third  day's  journey  we  found  them  still  seated  in  their 
original  positions.  They  told  me  they  did  not  get  together 
very  often,  but  when  they  did  they  always  played  all  night. 

Leaving  Tsi-nan-fu  we  passed  an  occasional  tall  chimney, 
left  from  the  kilns  built  for  making  brick  for  the  adjacent 
station  and  other  railway  buildings,  it  actually  being  cheaper 
to  build  a  brick  kiln  and  manufacture  brick  on  the  spot  than 
to  transport  it.  Such  an  apparent  waste  of  labor  in  construct- 
ing these  tall  chimneys  would  seem  strange  indeed  in  any 
other  country  except  China,  where  labor  is  cheap  and  artisans 
plentiful  and  expert. 

At  Sang  Yan  we  enjoyed  greatly  the  unusual  sight  of 
trees,  greenly  vivid  over  the  wall  on  the  brown  plains  which 
in  the  distance  made  us  think  of  the  flat  plateau  of  Central 
Spain.  As  we  proceeded  to  Tientsin  the  white  soda  lands  in- 


76      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

creased  in  area.  We  arrived  there  late  at  night,  and  in  the 
biting  cold  went  through  the  well  built  foreign  quarter  to 
the  excellent  hotel  where,  with  both  steam  heat  and  a  chimney 
fireplace  as  well,  we  soon  regained  some  of  our  traveler's  en- 
thusiasm. 

Dreadful  tales  were  told  us  of  the  Revolutionary  and 
Manchu  looting  of  a  few  months  previous,  of  decapitated  bodies 
lying  by  scores  along  the  principal  thoroughfare  and  other 
conditions  too  sad  to  repeat. 

From  the  clean  pleasant  surroundings  of  the  foreign  settle- 
ment we  ventured  into  Chinese  Tientsin,  where  the  usual  condi- 
tion of  squalor  and  dirt  prevailed.  The  fine  tramways  system 
of  the  city  is  practically  unavailable  to  foreigners  because  of 
there  being  only  one  class  cars  which,  as  they  pass,  look  very 
uninviting  indeed. 

There  is  little  to  attract  the  tourist  in  Tientsin  outside 
of  the  international  life  to  be  seen  in  the  foreign  settlements 
with  their  representations  of  soldiers. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

THE   VULTURE    DRAGOX    CAPITAL 

Peking  makes  me  think  of  the  picture  of  the  vulture  dragon 
breathing  in  the  highest  winds  of  the  heavens  and  drinking  up 
the  deepest  waters  of  the  sea  with  a  never  satisfied  and  ever 
unappeasable  thirst  and  voracity. 

Stretched  out  upon  the  Northern  Plain  in  the  provincial  set- 
ting of  Chihli,  in  the  midst  of  the  dreary  surrounding  expanse 
only  broken  by  gaunt-ribbed  mountains,  Peking  has  during  the 
centuries  looked  out  as  a  vulture  dragon  over  the  whole  expanse 
of  China,  ever  discerning  an  easy  prey  in  the  great  toiling  mil- 
lions of  the  fertile  lands  beyond  who,  in  their  turn,  looked  back 
towards  the  great  mystery  of  the  winged  monster  and  satisfied 
its  demands  to  the  utmost  limit  of  their  strength. 

Peking  during  the  restless  period  of  modern  progress  was 
the  incubus  which,  hanging  over  China,  concealed  as  in  a  pall 
the  light  of  progress.  The  great  northern  capital  in  the  greed 
and  avarice  of  the  governing  classes  absorbed  the  surplus  wealth 
of  China,  holding  millions  of  its  subjects  in  the  inexorable 
grip  of  poverty.  China  poured  its  wealth  into  Peking  and 
received  nothing  in  return.  The  jeweled  fingers  of  the  Man- 
darinate  were  ever  outheld  to  obtain  more  from  the  suffering 
poor.  Everything  went  into  Peking.  Nothing  came  out.  The 
extravagance  of  the  officials  became,  towards  the  end  of  the 
Manchu  Dynasty,  a  matter  of  comment  even  amongst  them- 
selves. 

And  of  all  the  money  wasted  there  is  but  little  to  be 
seen  in  the  public  exterior  of  Peking  today.  The  money  was 
squandered  in  the  eat-drink-and-be-merry  spirit  of  the  time 
behind  gilded  walls  in  the  secrecy  of  which  the  Manchu 

77 


78      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Mandarinate,  wheedled  by  eunuchs,  blandished  by  flower  girls 
and  riotous  in  vice  and  corruption,  sank  still  lower  and  lower  in 
the  very  spirit  of  its  own  self-contempt.  The  public  build- 
ings of  China's  capital  are  not  commensurate  nor  worthy  of 
a  city  which  for  centuries  has  been  the  political  center  of  the 
largest  nation  of  the  world.  As  the  years  rolled  along  the  city 
shriveled  up  within  its  walls,  like  some  strange  animal  fearful 
of  a  blow  which  was  to  be  struck  at  it. 

Yet  as  we  go  about  through  these  lines  of  streets  and 
pass  from  one  enormous  gateway  to  another  of  these  tremendous 
walls  enclosing  thousands  of  acres  of  vacant,  unproductive  land, 
the  uncanniness  of  the  city  grows  upon  us  and  it  seems  as  we 
view  it  from  some  eminence  as  it  lies  stretched  out  before  us 
in  all  its  wonderful  detail,  to  have  now  become  the  mere  dis- 
membered remains  of  that  figurative  monster,  the  dragon  vul- 
ture of  our  fancy,  whose  power  of  evil  is  at  last  ended.  To 
one  who  is  acquainted  with  other  Chinese  cities  there  is  some- 
thing very  un-Chinese  in  Peking  which  speaks  of  those  bygone 
ages  of  the  North  and  their  generations  who  have  left  the  im- 
print of  their  existence  upon  these  people  we  see  about  us. 
There  is  something  in  it  all  that  takes  our  thoughts  back  to  the 
reaches  of  the  farther  Northland. 

There  is  but  little  of  that  prosperous  crowded  condi- 
tion to  be  expected  of  all  Chinese  cities,  for  the  struggle  for 
existence  is  hard  in  Peking,  since  it  was  not  selected  by  reason 
of  natural  advantages  but  rather  by  the  mere  caprice  of  the 
dragon  vulture. 

However,  from  a  sanitary  condition,  the  streets  are  better 
than  those  of  any  other  Chinese  city.  They  are  wide  and 
from  the  new  main  arteries  appear  vacant  and  deserted.  In 
the  Imperial  City  you  can  walk  for  hours  about  the  Grand 
Dame  Road  between  houses  whose  doors  rarely  open  and  where 
all  is  wrapped  in  a  pastoral  silence,  only  broken  by  an  occasional 
wheel  or  footfall.  Within  the  walls  the  distances  are  great, 


J 


Just  one  of  the  toicers  about  Peking. 
A   f/Umpse  of  Peking's  W<ill. 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  79 

and  a  long  walk  hardly  suffices  to  bring  one  from  one  point 
of  interest  to  another. 

The  legation  quarter  also  partakes  of  this  measure  of  grand 
distances  and  of  the  spaciousness,  the  desertion  and  vastness 
of  the  city  self.  Great  walls,  wide  avenues  and  vistas  of 
palatial  residences  hold  the  attention  on  all  sides.  But  there 
is  little  life  about  them.  Some  of  these  legations,  built  from 
Chinese  indemnity  money,  have  barely  enough  trade  with  China 
to  pay  altogether  the  mere  maintenance  of  their  palatial  homes. 
Everything  is  grand  about  them  as  befits  these  centers  of  inter- 
national intercourse  and  dignity.  An  occasional  movement  of 
a  squad  of  troops,  the  exchange  of  a  guard — and  then  only 
the  restless  walk  of  the  sentry  as  here  and  there  he  can  be 
heard  pacing  his  post  along  the  wide  streets  of  this  strange 
quarter — are  almost  the  only  sounds  to  break  the  silence. 

There  are  few  indications  of  foreigners  in  Peking.  Outside 
of  the  legation  quarter  the  Chinese  still  regard  them  somewhat 
curiously.  Only  a  few  tourists  come  from  day  to  day  and 
there  are  less  than  a  hundred  or  so  permanent  residents  out- 
side of  the  missionaries  and  the  legations.  The  corridors  of 
the  only  two  European  hotels  are  more  or  less  vacant,  except 
at  the  meal  hours  when  the  slight  show  of  activity  is  soon  lost. 

In  a  capital  as  ancient  as  Peking  one  would  expect  to  find 
more  literacy  among  its  residents  than  I  actually  did  by  the 
following  test,  although,  of  course,  the  test  is  casual  and  en- 
tirely conjectural.  I  had  the  Chinese  written  characters  for 
certain  objects  of  interest  that  I  wished  to  visit,  and  then  as 
I  wandered  about  the  streets  I  would  show  a  certain  character 
to  any  passing  Chinese  who  bore  the  appearance  of  being 
literate.  When  a  direction  was  asked  in  a  store,  someone  was 
always  found  who  could  read,  but  out  on  the  open  street  I 
was  surprised  to  find  the  small  percentage  who  understood 
the  characters.  Of  course  Peking  has  now  an  increasingly  large 
provincial  population  and  the  test  is  by  no  means  a  fair  one 


80      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

or  at  all  conclusive,  except  in  a  very  casual  way,  but  demon- 
strated that  the  reasonable-  estimate  of  one  out  of  every  twenty 
Chinese  males  being  able  to  read  is  barely  the  average  in 
Peking.  Instead  of  having  that  alertness  and  vivacity  that 
generally  characterized  the  prominent  residents  of  capital  cities, 
they  seem  unused  to  the  cosmopolitan  manners  that  go  with 
a  great  city.  Even  in  their  theatres  there  is  little  to  show 
the  polish  that  government  centers  are  supposed  to  give.  Upon 
my  first  visit  to  the  leading  Peking  theatre  I  asked  our  guide 
about  the  steaming  towels  which  were  flying  through  the  air 
from  balconies  to  pit,  and  with  which  the  people  were  wiping 
their  faces.  Instead  of  merely  giving  the  explanation  that 
the  towels  were  used  to  refresh  the  face  and  hands,  the  guide 
responded,  "Velly  sleepy  people.  They  use  towels  to  keep 
awake."  Whether  this  was  a  reflection  on  the  audience  or 
the  actors  I  did  not  take  the  pains  to  inquire. 

Not  only  are  the  streets  vacant  and  deserted,  but  the  people 
themselves  look  provincial  and  easily  abashed.  But  their  lan- 
guage is  soft  and  subdued  and  very  musical.  However,  Peking 
is  a  quiet  and  a  very  pleasant  city  in  many  respects,  but  with 
none  of  the  animation  and  vehemence  in  the  busiest  thorough- 
fare which  speaks  of  the  great  city.  In  only  one  respect  do 
the  people  throw  off  their  mantle  of  countrified  restraint,  and 
that  is  when  they  are  after  money.  By  long  familiarity  and 
imitation  under  the  influence  of  the  dragon  vulture,  they  at 
times  appear  to  become  obsessed  with  the  passion  for  lucre. 
Particularly  the  priests  and  custodians  of  the  temples  allow 
no  equal  in  their  persistence  in  demanding  money.  They  also 
have  their  system  of  the  squeeze.  Every  door  and  entrance  is 
barred,  so  that  under  the  semblance  of  having  authority  and 
doing  a  service  as  many  exactions  as  possible  can  be  made. 

In  the  Llama  temple  I  half  seriously  called  the  attention 
of  a  comical  sort  of  insatiate  attendant  to  a  sign  which  stated 
that  no  gratuities  should  be  given  by  visitors.  With  a  great 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  81 

show  of  confidence  he  then  proceeded  to  eloquently  interpret 
the  sign,  declaring  that  it  only  meant  visitors  outside  the 
temple,  not  inside.  I  gravely  asked  him  if  that  was  the  way 
Chinese  laws  and  orders  were  interpreted,  and  he  responded 
in  the  affirmative,  grinning  very  broadly  as  he  hurriedly 
pocketed  the  coin  I  gave  him.  Yes,  even  the  meanest  of 
Peking's  beggars  have  learnt  some  of  the  cunning  of  the  dragon 
vulture.  The  whole  city  is  galvanized  with  an  electric  impulse 
to  get  something  for  nothing. 

And  why  not?  Peking  was  the  Mecca  of  those  seeking 
easy  money.  The  Manchus  could  pour,  as  water  through  a 
sieve,  the  golden  stream  that  from  every  part  of  China  flowed 
into  Peking,  and  still  it  would  come — come  from  those  toiling 
millions.  Money  so  easily  acquired  was,  of  course,  easily 
spent.  The  wildest  of  money  wasting  schemes  were  proposed 
and  often  accepted  by  the  Manchu  reigning  families.  Their 
easily  acquired  wealth  was  dissipated  among  their  retainers  who 
appropriated  it  as  they  wished.  The  late  Dowager  Em- 
press, being  shown  a  handsome  imported  mirror,  said:  "Let 
us  import  no  more  of  these.  Let  us  make  them  ourselves." 
Her  followers  saw  here  a  chance  for  graft;  they  immediately 
prepared  elaborate  plans  and  designs.  She  delivered  to  them 
three  million  Haikwan  taels  for  construction  work  and  gave 
them  a  factory  site  worth  a  million  dollars.  Within  a  few 
months  the  money  was  gone  with  absolutely  nothing  to  show 
for  it,  and  the  building  site  had  been  mortgaged  to  the  extent 
of  its  borrowing  capacity.  When  Tzean  would  ask  about  prog- 
ress on  the  factory  she  was  told  that  everything  was  progress- 
ing, but  some  time  yet  was  needed  to  get  things  really  started. 
Poor  old  vicious  woman.  The  sweat-bathed  money  of  the  poor 
was  such  a  common  thing  to  her  that  she  really  did  not  have 
time  to  keep  track  of  all  the  inroads  and  outlets  made  on  the 
abundant  coffers  perennially  supplied  by  the  faithful  to  the 
unfeeling  Manchus.  Foreign  jewels  were  bought  by  her  and 


82      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

the  rest  of  the  reigning  family  in  foolish  extravagance  at  extor- 
tionate prices.  Peking  was  filled  with  designing  persons  of 
all  nations  whose  palms  itched  for  some  of  the  reported  easily 
acquired  Manchu  money. 

But  for  outward  evidences  of  the  lavish  spending  of  money 
today,  one  looks  in  vain.  Much  of  the  private  personal  wealth 
was,  during  the  anti-Manchu  Revolution,  taken  to  Shanghai, 
Tsingtau,  Tientsin  and  other  foreign  ports  where  the  wealthy 
Manchus  sought  and  found  protection.  Within  the  forbidden 
city  there  will  be  shown  eventually  to  the  public  much  of  the 
rare  and  costly.  In  the  Summer  Palace  I  gazed  in  wonder 
on  the  miles  of  marble  balustrades  and  the  rich  profusion  of 
bronzes,  including  one  dainty  little  temple  entirely  of  that  metal. 
The  exhibition  of  costly  porcelain  roofs  and  facades  was  fas- 
cinating. Undoubtedly  the  ultimate  display  of  the  forbidden 
city,  although  a  mere  bagatelle  value  of  the  millions  squandered, 
will  prove  equally  wonderful.  After  the  destruction  of  the 
Chinese  fleet  in  the  war  with  Japan,  a  very  large  sum  of 
money  was  subscribed  by  the  patriotic  masses  and  forwarded 
to  Peking  for  a  naval  fund.  Xo  accounting  was  ever  made 
of  this  fund  which  vanished  shortly  after  its  arrival  at  Peking, 
but  a  small  part  of  which,  it  is  presumed,  went  into  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Summer  Palace. 

I  approached  the  Temple  and  Altar  of  Heaven  with  high 
hopes  of  a  great  display  of  architectural  beauty.  Although 
they  are  indeed  wonderful,  by  reason  of  the  generous  disposi- 
tion of  large  wooded  spaces  about  them,  their  cost  as  well  as 
that  of  all  the  public  monuments  in  Peking  in  comparison 
with  the  large  sums  which  were  otherwise  lavishly  spent  seems 
insignificant.  A  few  weeks  of  the  Imperial  income,  if  properly 
spent,  would  have  covered  the  cost  of  the  construction  of  the 
Altar  of  Heaven.  The  few  pagodas  and  temples  scattered  about 
at  great  distances  in  the  skeleton  city  reflect  but  little  idea  of 
the  munificent  income  exacted  by  the  Imperial  house. 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  83 

But  with  the  disappointment  in  going  about  Peking,  there 
is  wonder  in  it  all.  The  street  life  is  distinct  from  other 
Chinese  cities.  As  I  have  before  said,  it  is  indeed  a  city  of 
grand  and  magnificent  distances,  for  the  main  thoroughfares 
are  as  wide  as  a  good  ship's  length,  with  an  open  sewer  in  the 
middle  to  carry  away  the  excess  of  the  rain  draining  from 
such  an  area.  The  dust  is  bad,  particularly  in  winter,  when 
city  sweepers  are  continually  throwing  water  from  their  baskets 
which,  freezing  as  soon  as  it  falls,  is  shortly  ground  up  into 
an  icy  dust  which  the  wind  again  blows  about  in  a  frozen  storm 
of  ice  and  dirt. 

The  water  is  conserved  in  cisterns  with  stone  tops  pierced 
with  two  or  three  small  openings  to  allow  the  water  to  be 
drawn  up  into  water  baskets.  It  is  then  carried  in  curious 
wooden  tanks  on  either  side  of  a  wheelbarrow  to  the  place  of 
its  use.  Carriages  drawn  by  stocky  Manchurian  ponies,  with  a 
footman  on  the  rumble  of  the  vehicle,  rattle  around  between 
the  lines  of  rickshaws  and  pedestrians.  Files  of  camels  are  so 
common  as  to  attract  but  little  attention  from  the  tourist  after 
the  first  day  or  so.  These  magnificent  animals  require  only 
a  single  driver  or  leader  who  walks  at  the  head  of  the  first 
camel,  the  others  following,  confined  by  a  strong  cord  fixed  to 
a  ring  in  their  nose.  They  impressed  us  as  being  larger  and 
hardier  than  the  camels  we  saw  in  Egypt  and  India. 

In  the  winter  time  everyone  who  can  afford  it  wears  furs, 
even  shoes  being  lined  with  skins  with  the  furry  side  in.  The 
Manchu  woman's  headdress  is  seen  more  frequently  in  Peking, 
of  course,  than  elsewhere — a  strange  stiff  bow  of  ribbon  stand- 
ing upright  like  a  miniature  windmill.  Chinese  cavalry  and 
infantry  are  frequently  seen,  the  former  mounted  on  short 
legged,  thick  bodied,  shaggy  Manchurian  horses.  The  famous 
two-wheeled  carts  of  Peking,  with  their  arched  limousines  and 
outstanding  axles,  add  greatly  to  the  picturesqueness  of  street 
scenes.  The  main  streets  are  continually  cared  for  by  men 


84      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

who  work  with  a  hoe-like  tamping  iron  and  a  bamboo  rake  like 
a  pitchfork.  There  are  no  doors  to  the  stores,  their  entrance 
being  closed  by  a  heavy,  tight  falling  curtain  hanging  from 
the  top.  The  Peking  workmen  are  very  large,  strong  and  skill- 
ful, and  have  many  original  ways  of  doing  their  work.  I 
watched  a  couple  of  bricklayers  piling  up  bricks  for  future 
construction.  One  stood  on  a  fifteen-foot  high  pile  of  brick, 
while  the  other  threw  them  up  to  him  on  his  precarious  footing 
from  a  shovel,  two,  three  and  even  four  bricks  at  a  single  shot 
and  with  remarkable  precision.  The  throwing  of  red  hot  bolts 
by  American  structural  iron  workers  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  safe 
pastime  compared  with  the  occupation  of  that  aerial  brick 
catcher. 

Passing  along  the  street  one  continually  hears  behind  the 
curtained  doorways  the  song  of  the  carder's  trade  as  he  twangs 
at  the  wool  in  its  process  of  carding,  with  a  sound  as  from  a 
stringed  instrument.  Many  other  sounds  of  labor,  light  and 
sometimes  with  the  musical  ring  of  metal,  greet  our  ears. 

Itinerant  peddlers  call  their  wares  in  sounds  and  noises  that 
seem  to  affect  imitations  of  birds  and  animals.  I  have  heard 
calls  which  sounded  all  the  way  from  the  song  of  a  bobolink 
to  the  crow  of  a  rooster,  and  from  the  barking  of  a  dog  to 
the  braying  of  a  donkey.  Some  of  them  seemed  to  take  as 
much  pride  in  their  call  as  they  do  in  the  selling  of  their 
wares. 

Now  and  then  a  hog  or  so,  which  by  the  way  as  food  pro- 
ducers are  the  most  essential  animals  of  all  China,  with  long 
bristles  on  their  thin  backs,  will  turn  out  of  our  way.  You 
may  sometimes  see  a  great  crowd  gathered  about  a  little  shop, 
and  hastening  up  to  see  what  has  occurred  you  will  find  that 
it  is  only  probably  the  trial  of  a  newly  purchased  Yankee  food 
cutter  proudly  manipulated  by  its  owner.  The  rickshaw  men 
attach  mittens  to  their  shafts  in  the  winter  time  so  as  to  have 
them  handy.  As  soon  as  the  sun  comes  out  many  of  them 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  85 

frequently  run  with  naked  breasts,  and  the  wood  sawers  in- 
variably work  naked  to  the  waist  whenever  there  is  any  sun- 
shine, no  matter  how  cold  it  may  be.  The  winters  are  severe 
and  there  is  little  fuel  for  the  poor.  The  Desert  of  Gobi  is 
not  far  away,  and  the  cold  spell  which  it  casts  over  Peking 
even  in  still  air  is  something  to  be  long  remembered.  When 
the  wind  blows  the  cold  reaches  under  furs  and  woolens  to 
one's  very  marrow,  and  I  have  frequently  envied  the  Chinese 
whose  coats  button  up  on  the  side  rather  than  in  front  as  with 
us.  In  severe  weather  men  and  women  wear  long  hoods  which, 
enveloping  all  the  head  and  shoulders,  leave  only  the  face  ex- 
posed. Ordinarily  they  do  not  need  gloves  as  they  keep  their 
hands  warm  in  their  sleeves.  The  Chinese  do  not,  as  we,  enjoy 
winter  sports.  Although  in  Peking,  near  Coal  Hill,  there  is 
a  splendid  pond,  smooth  and  deep  frozen,  along  which  hun- 
dreds of  children  pass  daily,  I  have  never  noticed  them  skat- 
ing or  sliding  on  the  ice.  The  only  sledging  I  saw  was  be- 
tween Peking  and  Tientsin,  where  I  watched  the  peculiarly 
Chinese  method  of  propelling  the  sledge  by  means  of  a  pike 
with  a  movement  somewhat  like  that  of  oaring  backward,  or 
as  one  would  pole  a  boat  forward,  catching  the  iron  end  of 
the  pike  in  the  ice  and  thus  pushing  the  boat  forward  in  an 
easy  and  gradual  motion.  But  these  sledges  were  not  for 
pleasure.  They  were  the  ingenious  invention  of  necessity,  en- 
abling the  fishermen  to  carry  their  fish  to  market  over  the  other- 
wise almost  impassable  fields  of  ice.  It  is  hard  to  understand 
how  the  Chinese,  with  their  love  of  sunshine,  birds  and  flowers, 
should  not  have  found  means  to  remove  their  northern  capital 
back  to  the  sunny  Yangtse  banks  of  Nankin,  where  a  week 
before  our  arriving  at  Peking  we  had  enjoyed  the  sunshine  and 
crisp  air  of  that  former  capital.  For  several  months  of  the 
year  even  the  sea  is  ice  bound  around  Peking,  Tientsin,  its  port 
as  well  as  the  German  port  of  Tsingtau,  being  gripped  in  fields 
of  ice. 


86      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

But  if  the  winters  are  severe  at  Peking  what  shall  we  say 
of  the  summer,  when  the  heat  is  so  excessive  as  to  frequently 
prove  fatal,  and  when  the  brilliant  sun  is  sometimes  clouded 
and  obscured  by  clouds  and  overhanging  layers  of  dust? 

In  such  seasons  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Chinese 
reigning  family  betook  itself  to  the  Summer  Palace,  situated 
upon  a  beautiful  range  of  hills  with  the  mountains  beyond, 
the  air  cooled  by  leafy  groves  and  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
beautiful  lake.  There  indeed,  among  the  pavilion  covered  walks 
and  embowered  terraces,  was  a  pleasant  retreat  from  the  fierce 
heat  of  summer.  The  traveler  who  looks  for  a  wonder  at  the 
Summer  Palace  itself  will  perhaps  be  more  disappointed  than 
he  who  looks  for  what  makes  the  real  beauty  of  the  palace — 
the  "Sunny  Gardens" — for  the  very  hanging  gardens  of  Baby- 
lon could  not  have  been  more  beautiful  than  these.  Piled  high 
up  like  some  scenic  ideal  of  a  master  architect,  one  above  the 
other  in  all  the  wonder  of  colored  porcelain  and  carved  marble, 
rise  groups  of  buildings  enframed  in  wonderful  gardens  in  this 
most  entrancing  location.  The  effect  of  the  cluster  of  pagodas 
which,  built  upon  the  steep  hill,  are  crowned  by  the  supreme 
porcelain  pagoda  is  perfect.  The  construction  immediately 
before  it  is  built  with  its  open  gallery  upon  an  enormous  brick 
foundation,  whose  whole  front  is  outlined  by  a  grand  porcelain 
balustrade  which  diamond  shaped  follows  the  double  stone  stair- 
way. As  we  stand  on  the  marble  pavement  below,  the  colored 
outline  of  towering  pagodas  is  very  impressive.  The  usual  path 
of  ascent  is  along  the  easier  incline  of  the  rockeries,  which 
are  constructed  of  large  broken  stones  so  carefully  cemented 
together  as  to  almost  pass  as  real.  A  subterranean  passage  is 
under  a  mask  of  this  artificially  laid  rock  which  takes  on  the 
appearance  of  a  veritable  cliff.  One  of  the  most  fascinating 
architectural  curiosities  of  this  splendid  jumble  of  construction 
is  a  beautiful  bronze  kiosk  upon  its  platform  of  carved  white 
marble  and  to  which  I  have  already  passingly  referred.  It  is 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  87 

as  exquisitely  wrought  as  a  piece  of  jeweler's  work.  We  were 
sorry  not  to  have  seen  this  beautiful  spot  in  the  spring  time, 
for  great  labor  has  been  expended  in  making  terrace  flower 
beds  outlined  with  green  tile.  But  even  in  winter  it  is  beauti- 
ful. The  slanting  rays  of  the  sun  gathered  up  in  the  recesses 
of  the  hills  showed  warmly,  without  melting  in  a  particle,  the 
mass  of  ice  on  the  lake. 

"See  the  Summer  Palace,"  said  an  old  Pekinese,  "and  you 
will  have  seen  all  that  China  has  to  offer  in  art  and  architec- 
ture," and  we  found  verily  that  not  only  in  the  tout  ensemble 
but  in  every  detail  of  porcelain  roofs,  canopied  walks,  marble 
caves,  arched  bridges,  lotus  ponds  and  rockeries,  there  was  a 
plan  apparent  which  showed  that  a  whole  empire  had  been 
drawn  upon  to  furnish  the  scheme  of  this  gigantic  effort  of 
man  to  combine  the  beauties  of  his  craft  with  those  of  nature's 
own  art.  A  wall  of  artificial  rock,  a  marble  junk,  and  a  bridge 
of  the  same  stone  are  among  the  unique  features.  We  rambled 
ecstatic  up  and  down  the  pathways  looking  at  the  shining  lines 
of  green  and  yellow  tiles  which  enliven  the  lines  of  the 
temples.  The  curious  find  interest  in  a  visit  to  the  theatre 
with  its  mechanical  devices  and  the  green  rooms  of  the  actors. 

Peking  at  night  is  indeed  a  gloomy  city.  Except  for  a 
feeble  line  of  electric  lights  in  the  legation  quarter,  only  the 
rickshaw  lanterns,  moving  grotesquely  along,  light  the  way 
about  at  night.  In  any  other  save  a  Chinese  city  prowling 
through  these  deserted  thoroughfares  would  not  be  without  an 
occasional  danger. 

But  the  Chinese  have  dwelt  too  long  in  cities  to  allow  any 
danger  within  their  walls,  and  I  doubt  if  the  world  has  even 
known  a  country  where  travel  from  one  part  to  another,  within 
and  without  the  cities,  is  more  free  from  danger.  Their  ad- 
ministration of  justice  is  ferocious  but  certainly  efficient.  They 
have  never  bothered  with  our  cumbersome  punishment  of  im- 
prisonment. With  the  stocks,  neckyoke,  the  lash  and  the  bam- 


88      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

boo  for  misdemeanors,  reserving  decapitation,  strangling  or 
lynchee — the  dreadful  slicing  to  death  for  major  offences — they 
have  largely  eliminated  their  criminal  class  and  kept  their 
treasuries  from  the  drain  of  maintaining  costly  penal  institu- 
tions which  too  frequently  are  as  much  of  an  unwarranted 
injustice  to  the  prisoners  as  of  hardship  to  society. 

Nearly  all  of  the  cheap  thoroughfares  of  Peking  present  in 
their  lines  of  shop  fronts  a  more  or  less  brilliant  picture  of 
gilt  and  silver  and  many  colors.  The  shops  are  built  up  side 
by  side,  and  the  streets  are  mostly  wide  enough  to  allow  a 
good  perspective. 

These  store  fronts  offer  a  never  ending  study  of  the  beauti- 
ful in  color  combination  with  their  blending  shades  painted 
upon  railings,  friezes  and  panels  of  delicately  carved  wood- 
work, making  a  filigree  of  enchanting  color  combination  to 
which  the  lines  of  the  Chinese  characters,  also  in  gilt,  silver  or 
colors,  greatly  contribute. 

Most  of  the  shops  are  one  storied,  and  to  add  to  their 
beauty  and  attractiveness  the  single  story  is  surmounted  with 
a  railing  of  varied  design  in  bright  colors.  Underneath  the 
railing,  which  is  generally  about  the  height  of  a  man,  begins 
an  embellishment  with  gilt  or  colored  decoration.  Beneath 
this  roof  table  should  come,  according  to  the  idea  of  the  best 
shop  fagade  architects,  the  awning  of  carved  wood,  likewise  cut 
in  attractive  designs  and  painted  in  colors,  bringing  out  the 
grotesqueness  of  human  and  animal  figures  depicted  under- 
neath. Then  extending  under  the  awning  comes  a  frieze  two 
to  four  feet  wide,  lined  and  traced  in  gold,  gilt  or  yellow. 
Beneath  shows  the  panel,  the  vivid  reds  and  yellows  blending 
into  the  softer  shades  and  lined  again  with  gilt  or  gold.  The 
windows  are  of  grille  work,  the  door  closing  by  a  curtain  of 
appropriate  color  hung  from  the  top.  Chinese  characters,  giv- 
ing the  name  of  the  owner  and  nature  of  the  shop,  are  some- 
times painted  beside  the  door,  but  the  more  frequent  sign  of 


The  Vulture  Dragon  Capital  89 

ownership  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  shop  comes  from 
the  designs  and  characters  which,  suspended  from  the  out- 
stretched heads  of  dragons  or  other  fantastic  figures  extended 
from  the  roof  balcony,  sway  their  gilt,  silvered  and  colored 
outlines  back  and  forth  in  the  breeze,  adding  much  to  the 
delight  and  novelty  of  the  whole  beautiful  color  picture.  If 
the  shop  should  have  several  wide  stone  steps  before  it  to  give 
better  perspective  in  a  terrace  effect,  the  result  is  particularly 
finished  and  complete.  The  detailed  work,  as  I  have  thus  at- 
tempted to  describe  it,  is  superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  one 
finds  elsewhere,  the  whole  effect  being  more  like  beautiful 
cloisonne  or  some  rare  design  of  the  jeweler's  art. 

Nor  is  the  beauty  of  the  shop  limited  to  the  exterior,  for 
within  another  picture  of  beautiful  decoration  awaits.  Painted 
panels,  hanging  screen  work,  inlaid  furniture  and  an  artistically 
arranged  display  of  wonderful  ware  line  the  walls. 


CHAPTEE  IX 

SPIRIT   TOMBS 

Tomb  building  in  China  and  Egypt  seems  to  me  to  have 
more  analogy  than  mere  chance  would  allow.  Both  nations, 
from  ancient  time  immemorial,  had  attempted  to  preserve  the 
body  whole  and  intact  for  as  long  a  period  as  possible,  decapita- 
tion and  slicing  as  methods  of  execution  being  considered  even 
more  severe  than  the  painful,  slow  death  by  strangling,  because 
the  latter  preserves  the  body  whole.  There  was  likewise  a 
common  belief  in  the  spirit's  frequent  visitation  of  the  remains, 
and  the  tombs  were  symmetrically  disposed  by  both  nations 
to  make  such  visitations  more  favorable  with  regard  to  the 
elements.  Really,  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree,  about  the 
only  great  difference  between  the  two  methods  of  burial  and 
the  beliefs  which  originated  them  was  that  the  Chinese  did 
not  mummify  as  the  Egyptians,  due  entirely  to  the  fact  that 
mummification  is  not  possible  in  a  climate  such  as  that  of  China. 

The  only  authority  I  have  for  making  what  would  be  to 
many  this  strangely  original  assertion  is  my  own  observation 
and  study  of  Chinese  and  Egyptian  tombs,  and  I  feel  confident 
that  as  time  rolls  along  investigation  and  discovery  will  show 
that  through  Babylon  particularly  there  existed  close  and  com- 
mon bonds  of  origin  between  Egypt  and  China.  But  how  dif- 
ferent the  courses  of  the  two  nations!  Vainglorious  Egypt, 
pompous  with  military  pride,  now  vanquished  and  dead  these 
thousands  of  years  past,  while  China,  peace  loving  and  con- 
ciliatory, still  lives  on,  the  greatest  political  and  racial  entity 
the  world  today  knows. 

It  is  with  thoughts  such  as  these  that  one  should  visit  the 
Ming  Tombs  which,  far  from  being  mere  egotistic  and  conceited 
monuments,  were  constructed  with  the  idea  of  preserving  the 

90 


Spirit  Tombs  91 

bodies  of  the  dead  in  much  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same 
purpose  as  Egyptian  monarchs  constructed  their  pyramids. 

But  why  should  the  Chinese  have  so  little  to  show  in  com- 
parison with  Egypt  as  regards  tomb  monuments,  Egypt  being 
so  much  the  smaller  nation?  That  a  country  as  old  in  its 
finished  society  as  China  itself  should  have  so  few  ancient 
monuments  is  a  surprising  condition,  due  principally  to  three 
reasons,  the  first  being  that  of  the  climate,  the  disintegrating 
effect  of  which  upon  building  material  is  disastrous  compared 
with  the  climate  of  Egypt,  where  I  have  seen  paintings  four 
thousand  years  old  as  clear  and  fresh  as  though  just  finished. 
The  second  reason  is  that  China  has  never  had  any  great  in- 
vasions by  which  cities  were  partly  destroyed,  then  abandoned, 
but  a  little — sometimes  a  very  little — covered  by  the  protecting 
debris  and  dust  which  has  preserved  for  us  so  many  chapters 
from  the  otherwise  forgotten  history  of  the  past.  The  Chinese 
simply  lived  on  from  century  to  century,  using  over  and  over 
again  the  building  materials  available  for  their  needs,  until 
they  became  eventually  useless  from  long  employment.  The 
Chinese  largely  construct  their  new  buildings  from  the  old 
as  much  as  they  can,  and  what  had  gone  before  was  thus 
effaced  by  the  new  in  much  the  same  way  that  modern  European 
and  American  cities  are  being  continually  rebuilt. 

As  China  becomes  better  known  more  will  be  revealed  of 
its  past,  but  to  the  traveler  of  today  it  appears  indeed  strange 
that  China  has  so  little  to  show  of  its  antiquity 

But  among  the  few  monuments  of  China  which  still  endure 
from  centuries  past,  it  is  not  surprising  that  among  the  most 
prominent  here  as  in  India  and  Egypt  are  to  be  found  the 
tombs  of  those  great  in  authority.  For  their  character,  their 
isolation  and  their  inappropriateness  for  other  purposes  gave 
them  a  peculiar  protection. 

The  third  reason  is  that  the  Chinese  laboring  masses  with 
their  democratic  spirit  would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  em- 


92      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

ployed  in  the  mere  building  of  imperial  monuments.  They 
have  always  been  a  free  people  and  it  was  only  in  the  con- 
struction of  walls  in  their  own  defense  that  their  labor  could 
be  controlled  in  great  building  enterprises. 

The  visits  to  the  Ming  Tombs  near  Peking  are  generally 
made  at  the  same  time  as  the  visits  to  the  Great  Wall. 

An  early  start  from  Peking  brought  us  in  the  middle  of 
the  forenoon  to  Nankow,  where  two  rival  Chinese  hotels  con- 
tested for  our  patronage.  One  of  the  proprietors  was  particu- 
larly insistent  that  we  should  go  to  his  hotel  because,  accord- 
ing to  him,  it  was  the  only  one  which  possessed  beds  with 
"ploper  splings,"  but  he  was  so  persistent  on  our  going  with 
him  that  we  finally  chose  the  other  hotel,  and  were  so  tired 
when  night  came  after  a  visit  to  the  Tombs  that  we  slept 
soundly  on  the  hard  boards  of  the  tiny  cell-like  rooms  with 
no  regret  or  yearning  in  our  dreams  for  the  "ploper  splings." 

We  arose  at  four  o'clock  in  the  foggy  dawn  and,  considering 
the  fact  that  our  toilet  did  not  take  us  long  since  we  for  the 
warmth  were  obliged  to  sleep  in  most  of  our  clothes,  it  was 
a  long  wait  for  the  excellent  breakfast  of  porridge,  ham 
and  eggs,  coffee  and  persimmons.  With  my  wife  and  I  in  the 
party  were  a  couple  of  brilliant  young  Parisians  and  a  deep 
thinking,  newly  fledged  Herr  Doctor  from  the  University  of 
Berlin.  At  the  breakfast  we  spoke  of  war,  little  dreaming 
that  of  the  four  men  I  would  be  in  a  short  time  the  only 
one  who  would  not  bear  arms  in  the  dreadful  European  con- 
flict. As  we  hastened  to  where  our  equipment  for  the  jaunt 
was  waiting,  one  of  us  tripped  over  the  broken  line  of  a 
barbed  wire  fence,  whereupon  there  issued  from  the  doorway 
of  the  neighboring  hotel  a  hearty  Chinese  laugh,  followed  by 
the  good  natured  exclamation: 

"Ho !  Now  you  see — makee  meestake — no  come  this  ploper 
hotel.  Other  hotel  no  have  ploper  splings — no  ploper  beds. 
Him  other  man — he  put  him  splings  on  fence." 


Spirit  Tombs  93 

We  all  laughed  at  this  sally,  although  the  full  humor  was  lost 
on  us  until  the  joker  himself  came,  forgivingly  good  natured, 
to  show  us  the  way  around  the  fallen  fence. 

The  donkeys  and  a  donkey  boy  were  provided,  the  latter  to 
goad  the  former  on.  Upon  returning  to  the  hotel  at  evening 
one  of  the  party  said  to  the  proprietor: 

"Look  here,  you  told  me  one  boy  was  enough  for  two 
donkeys!  Next  time  you  tell  everyone  that  they  need  two 
donkey  boys  for  one  donkey."  The  Chinese  grinned,  evidently, 
however,  not  seeing  the  fine  point  of  the  complaint  in  which  I 
myself  almost  felt  like  joining,  for  those  particular  Nankow 
donkeys  are  the  slowest  I  have  ever  known.  Punches,  kicks, 
jabs  and  knocks  were  continually  needed  to  urge  them  up 
to  even  a  three-mile-an-hour-gate.  We,  however,  forgave  the 
obstinacy  of  these  the  most  faithful  companions  of  the  poor 
Chinese  farmer,  and  at  length  arrived  beneath  the  magnificent 
pailow  of  marble  from  which  the  roadway  with  its  strange 
figures  of  stone  disappeared.  The  selection  of  this  site  for 
these  wonderful  tombs  was  both  for  the  isolation  and  conse- 
quent protection,  and  also  because  the  amphitheatre-like  girdle 
of  mountains  about  them  seemed  auspicious  for  the  visitation 
of  the  spirits. 

The  mountains,  commonly  called  gridiron  in  form,  stretch 
out  their  ridges,  one  peak  being  opposed  to  another  so  that 
they  appear  like  the  tentacles  of  some  monster  in  their  whole 
composition.  It  would  not  take  much  superstitious  fear  on 
a  dark  night  to  inspire  the  mind  of  the  ignorant  into  a  super- 
natural regard  for  such  mountains,  which  with  their  sharp 
ribs  and  tentacles  surround  a  tableland  of  a  few  hours'  walk 
from  side  to  side,  the  whole  being  cultivated  except,  of  course, 
the  dry  torrent  beds  of  sand  and  rock  which  abound  in 
large  numbers  and  which  carry  off  the  spring  freshets  as  they 
pour  down  the  treeless  and  naked  sides  of  the  mountains. 

The  industry  of  the  farmer  has  even  extended  up  the  sides 


94       Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

of  the  mountain  until  further  prevented  by  the  stones  and 
rocks.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  Imperial  necromancers 
selected  this  spot  as  one  appropriate  for  the  Ming  burial  ground, 
for  the  mountains  stretching  around  the  plateau  form  a  natural 
Feng  Sui  against  evil  spirits. 

The  work  was  commenced  and  mostly  finished  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  each  of  the  thirteen  Emperors  who  are 
buried  here.  Marble  roads  and  bridges,  archways  and  pailows 
were  all  constructed  from  the  most  massive  and  costly  material 
brought  from  great  distances.  The  main  avenue  leads  through 
a  distance  of  an  hour's  walk  in  the  midst  of  the  plateau  under 
the  two  arches,  the  marble  pailow  and  the  Feng  Sui  with  a 
score  or  so  of  stone  images  on  either  side. 

Scattered  at  distances  of  from  one  to  two  miles  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  and  upon  the  slopes  are  the  separate  tombs 
themselves  which,  enframed  by  their  walls  and  embowered  by 
pine  and  oak,  look  more  like  a  pretentious  villa  from  the 
distance  and  the  bright  abode  of  the  living  rather  than  a  tomb 
of  the  dead. 

In  the  galleries  Georges  Petit,  in  Paris,  I  attended  the 
exposition  of  a  French  artist  recently  returned  from  China, 
where  the  picture,  entitled  La  valle  des  tombeaux  des  Ming, 
carried  out  beautifully  the  native  idealism  of  Chinese  sepul- 
chres. The  artist  has  made  the  mountains  disappear  in  a 
wild  cyclonic  disturbance  which,  curling  upon  itself  in  gigantic 
eddies,  is  illumined  with  a  lurid  saffron  glow  shining  from  the 
roofs  of  the  red  walled  tombs  and  brightened  by  a  visitation 
of  light  from  the  gleaming  mysterious  heavens  beyond,  high 
above  the  blackness  of  the  foreboding  surroundings  of  earth. 
Such  interpretations  as  this  almost  make  Feng  Sui  just  a  phase 
of  our  own  religious  thought. 

Although  the  Nankin  Tombs  are  very  few  in  number,  they 
are  much  older  than  those  of  the  North  and  their  situation 
equally  attractive. 


Entrance  to  Llama  Temple,  Peking. 
Temple    of    Heaven,    Peking. 


Facade  Llama  Temple,  Peking. 
Bell  Tower,  Peking. 


Spirit  Tombs  95 

On  our  way  to  their  visit  we  rode  through  the  Tartar  City, 
recently  demolished  during  the  Eevolution,  and  although  barely 
a  year  had  elapsed  since  its  destruction  all  the  stone  walls 
had  heen  pulled  down  to  get  at  the  small  amount  of  wood 
contained  in  them,  leaving  only  a  litter  of  stone  piled  up  on 
either  side  of  the  streets  to  show  where  the  city  had  stood. 
A  large  number  of  the  Manchus,  fighting  for  their  lives,  were 
driven  down  from  the  city  by  the  Chinese,  through  the  Imperial 
City  into  the  walled  enclosure  beyond  the  Imperial  City  gates, 
where  machine  guns  were  trained  on  them  and  a  frightful 
slaughter  ensued  before  the  surrender  of  the  survivors.  We 
looked  with  interest  on  Lion  Hill  where  the  Republicans 
mounted  their  artillery  against  the  Manchus,  who  had  planted 
their  guns  on  Tiger  Hill  just  opposite.  Purple  Mountain 
beyond  is  appropriately  named  with  its  rare  color,  due  to  re- 
flection from  the  reddish  clay  sparsely  covering  the  scrub  grass. 
Wonderful  pools  of  water,  lakes,  undulating  hills  and  the  great 
grey  walls  of  Nankin,  with  every  stone  still  intact  even  to  the 
delicate  vaulting  of  the  archways,  due  to  their  enormous  earthen 
mounded  support,  make  up  a  glorious  picture  in  the  warm 
sunshine  and  crisp  air  of  a  winter  afternoon.  As  we  proceed 
we  meet  soldiers  on  skirmish  drill  among  the  thousands  of 
graves  scattered  around.  A  battalion  of  infantry  marches  past 
us  with  a  light  easy  adaptation  of  the  German  goosestep,  every 
soldier  apparently  very  proud  of  his  new  uniform  and  rifle. 
Although  young  and  raw  in  many  instances  and  not  of  the 
seasoned  sort  which  now  fill  the  ranks  of  so  many  Chinese 
regiments,  they  none  the  less  look  quite  ready  for  business  and 
would,  I  am  sure,  give  a  good  account  of  themselves  in  battle. 

Down  a  grass  grown  avenue  we  pass,  delighted  with  the 
scenery  about  us,  all  enlivened  with  the  solid  stone  figures  of 
men  and  animals  on  either  side.  Yes !  If  ever  there  was  a 
place  to  which  the  restless  spirit  of  the  dead  might  wish  to 
return  to  the  earthly  clay  it  had  shuffled  off,  it  would  be  in 


96      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

the  midst  of  such  surroundings  as  these.     Indeed,  this  spot  is 
fit  for  Spirit  Tombs. 

As  we  start  back  towards  the  city,  from  out  of  one  of  the 
miserable  hovels  comes  a  ragged  woman,  tottering  along  on  her 
tiny  deformed  feet  calling  to  us  for  alms  in  a  hollow,  sepulchral 
voice.  Weak,  emaciated — a  ghost-like  form  of  distress  upon 
which  death  has  already  seemed  to  cast  his  shadow,  through 
which  the  traces  of  the  woman's  former  beauty  appear.  Alone 
in  the  midst  of  the  radiant  fields  encircled  by  the  glorious 
empurpled  mountains,  her  hacking  cough  counting  off,  as  it 
were,  the  numbered  days  of  her  existence  in  the  fresh  and 
still  verdant  beauty  of  the  scene  about  her,  she  comes  toward 
us  through  the  circle  of  graves  that  surround  her  cave-like  abode. 
The  uncovered  coffin  of  one  of  the  graves  had  broken  open  at 
an  end,  suggesting  the  ghastliness  of  its  contents.  The  dying 
and  the  dead!  How  strange  the  contrast  in  the  midst  of  the 
otherwise  beautiful  surrounding.  We  watched  the  woman  sadly 
as  she  went  back  on  her  way  and  bethought  ourselves  of  the 
strange  gift  of  life  and  the  certainty  of  death,  as  looking  back 
towards  the  red  wall  of  the  Spirit  Tombs  we  had  a  feeling  of 
sympathy  for  their  builders  in  their  attempt  to  solve  the  im- 
penetrable mystery  of  life  and  death. 


CHAPTEE  X 

THE  GREAT   WALL   OP  PEACE 

Even  from  the  days  of  their  long  dead  contemporaries,  the  war 
loving  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  peace  loving  China  dreaded 
and  guarded  against  militarism.  Instead  of  making  armies 
out  of  nonproductive  soldiers  prone  to  idleness  and  mischief, 
the  Chinese  made  their  strength  of  security  out  of  stone.  In 
walls  they  found  their  means  of  defense  without  fear  of 
mutiny  and  rebellion.  "Soldiers  are  only  strong  while  the  food 
lasts,  but  walls  endure  like  mountains,"  said  they,  and  while 
the  other  nations  of  ancient  times  were  burdened  and  straining 
against  the  galling  yoke  of  soldiery,  the  Chinese  pursued  the 
calm  and  happy  current  of  their  life  with  no  fear  of  danger 
from  within  nor  of  invasion  from  without. 

We  are  now  beginning  to  realize  that  the  great  wall  of 
China,  nor  any  of  the  other  ten  or  more  walls  of  the  North, 
was  not  a  senseless  engineering  feat  but  that  it  was  in  fact  a 
great  national  economy.  One  of  the  chief  annoyances  of  the 
Chinese  was  the  constant  fear  of  surprise  by  attacks  from  the 
robber  horsemen  of  the  North.  While  the  Chinese  were  peace- 
fully engaged  in  their  pursuits,  even  a  small  body  of  these 
Northlanders,  swooping  down  on  them,  would  massacre  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  and  despoil  all  the  treasure  within  their 
reach  before  they  were  finally  driven  off.  The  Chinese  had  a 
contempt  for  the  shiftless,  nomadic  hordes  of  the  North,  as 
well  as  a  well  founded  fear  in  the  danger  of  an  invasion  by 
combined  forces.  Even  the  robber  horsemen,  by  the  continued 
fear  of  attack,  seriously  hampered  their  trade  and  commerce 
as  did  the  North  American  Indians  in  the  history  of  early 
English  colonization. 

97 


98      Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

These  tribes  of  the  North  ever  looked  down  with  envy  upon 
the  rich  and  prosperous  Southland,  whence  came  all  that 
they  knew  of  comfort  and  luxury.  They  themselves,  of  a 
sluggish  yet  cunning  intelligence,  mounted  upon  their  stocky 
little  horses,  were  ever  free  lances  for  rapine  and  robbery. 
They  took  on  from  their  environment  something  of  the  nature 
of  the  wolves  of  the  plains  who  were  their  chief  enemy,  for  no 
human  invasion,  except  for  punitive  or  other  purely  military 
reasons,  would  ever  enter  into  their  poor  and  inhospitable  coun- 
try. When  the  Mongul  succeeded  in  riding  down  a  wolf  he 
would  pin  his  hooked  spear  down  through  the  nose  and  mouth 
of  the  exhausted  brute  to  the  ground  beneath:  then  at  his 
leisure,  with  the  skill  of  his  savage  culture,  would  skin  the 
animal  alive,  finally  releasing  it  so  that  according  to  his  brute 
belief  it  might  return  to  the  rest  of  the  pack  and  tell  his  fel- 
lows what  punishment  awaited  them  from  the  Monguls. 

The  stories  told  of  the  Mongul's  barbarity  exceed  even  those 
of  the  Indians  of  North  America,  but  with  all  their  savagery 
and  moral  depravity  there  seems  to  have  been  some  sharp  tonic 
in  the  raw  cold  winds  that  blew  about  their  tents  which  put 
in  their  blood  the  courage  to  take  great  odds  in  their  quest 
of  booty. 

Organizing  into  bands,  sacrificing  their  savage  indepen- 
dence under  their  natural  leaders  whom  they  implicitly  obeyed 
with  a  brave  indifference  to  danger  and  an  utter  disregard  of 
hardship,  their  rude  sort  of  cavalry  formation  would  follow 
over  the  mountains,  desert  and  plains  southward  towards  the 
rich  treasure  lands  and  cities  of  the  Chinese.  Advancing 
rapidly,  making  the  last  stage  of  their  journey  under  the  cover 
of  night,  at  the  early  break  of  dawn  as  the  gates  of  the  city 
were  opened,  they  entered  with  their  mad  rush,  slaughtering, 
looting,  burning  for  hours  before  sufficient  strength  was  found 
to  oppose  them. 

Thus,  to  insure  against  the  possibility  of  a  general  invasion 


The  Great  Wall  of  Peace 99 

as  well  as  to  guard  against  these  guerrilla  attacks,  the  great 
wall  was  built. 

Had  the  money  spent  on  that  wall  been  dispensed  in  the 
maintenance  of  a  large  standing  army,  it  is  curious  to  speculate 
what  would  have  been  the  geographical  extent  of  political  China 
today.  Had  the  wall  not  been  built  the  reduction  of  China 
to  a  dependent  state  would  necessarily  have  followed.  Com- 
pared with  the  value  of  the  purpose  it  served,  the  cost  of  the 
wall  was  little  indeed.  The  whole  expense  of  its  construction 
was  a  bagatelle  considering  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  a 
sufficient  army  for  a  decade.  Under  the  conditions  of  those 
days  China  could  afford  such  a  labor  tax  upon  her  resources 
much  more  easily  than  can  England  even  today  afford  the 
continued  construction  of  dreadnoughts.  But  the  greatest  value 
of  all  resultant  from  the  great  wall  was  that  it  still  kept  China 
free  from  the  demoralizing  influence  of  militarism  with  the 
consequent  disturbance  of  economic  equilibrium. 

Chinese  conciliation  and  love  of  peace  built  the  wall,  and 
there  it  still  stands  stretching  from  the  sea  of  sunrise  to  the 
mountains  of  sunset,  the  great  Wall  of  Peace;  a  grim  sentinel 
reaching  out  over  the  lonely  mountains  into  the  fastnesses  of 
cragged  peaks  in  silent  isolation  far  towards  the  remotest 
regions  of  the  desert  and  then  even  farther  beyond,  where 
the  fields  again  bloom  and  the  ploughman  rests  himself  from 
the  summer's  heat  beneath  the  shadow  of  its  sinuous  form. 
Fortifications  generally  suggest  cities  and  centers  of  commercial 
movement,  but  this,  the  greatest  of  all  defenses,  winds  its  lonely 
way  far  from  villages  and  towns,  each  stone  placing  its  por- 
tentous form  farther  and  farther  from  the  rivers  and  seas  of 
man's  activity. 

The  wall,  about  twenty  feet  high  at  the  point  where  we 
viewed  it,  near  Chinglungchiao,  was  built  of  stone  with  a 
parapet  of  brick  five  feet  high  on  the  outside  and  two  feet  on 
the  inside,  enough  to  fully  protect  the  bodies  of  the  defenders 


100    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

as  they  fought  at  the  loopholes  at  the  front,  and  sufficient  to 
prevent  them  falling  over  as  in  the  excitement  of  the  defense 
they  might  rush  backward  and  forward.  For  this  wall  was 
meant  as  a  fighting  barrier  of  last  recourse,  where  peasants 
with  their  simple  implements  of  toil  could  themselves  defend 
the  wall,  and  where  every  advantage  was  offered  to  inexperience 
in  the  use  of  even  the  crudest  weapons. 

But  in  the  colossal  construction  they  did  not  forget  the 
necessities  of  peace.  Water  is  scarce  all  over  China,  and  the 
drainage  from  the  street-wide  width  of  the  top  of  the  wall 
meant  much,  so  the  rains  were  made  to  drain  inward  through 
gutters  which  dropped  the  water  in  tiny  cascades  upon  solid 
stone  receptacles,  which,  by  breaking  the  force  of  the  water, 
avoided  the  danger  of  undermining  the  wall. 

The  spacious  top  of  the  wall  between  the  parapet  is  paved 
with  wide  square  stones,  set  in  cement  and  beautifully  regular, 
with  no  indication  of  settling  after  these  centuries  of  exposure 
to  the  elements  and  subjection  to  the  laws  of  gravity. 

A  distance  of  a  few  minutes'  walk,  every  half  of  a  li  or  sixth 
of  an  English  mile,  well  built  lookout  towers  are  constructed 
inciting  the  imagination  to  what  this  wall  must  have  been 
when  from  station  to  station  during  the  long  winter  nights 
the  sentinel  calls  rang  out,  or  in  the  day  time  when  the  soldiers 
practiced  their  archery  and  artillery  fire  from  these  loopholes 
and  crenelated  openings.  Wonderful !  Yes !  Even  what  we 
see  before  us  is  wonderful;  but  fifteen  hundred  miles!  The 
mind  is  confused  at  the  marvel  of  the  accomplishment.  Oh, 
the  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  toiling  backs  patiently 
laboring  for  the  common  weal.  The  myriads  of  skilled  artisans. 
The  army  of  engineers.  How,  in  this  solitude,  amidst  the 
barrenness  of  these  mountains  were  provisions  obtained  for 
that  great  army?  How  ingeniously  they  labored,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  steepest  side  of  the  mountain  for  the  outer  wall 
as  they  planted  their  blocks  of  solid  stone  upon  foundations 


The  Great  Wall  of  Peace 101 

of  native  rock,  the  whole  a  finished  memorial  of  a  people's 
sovereignty,  complete  and  workmanlike.  The  mind  is  be- 
wildered in  imagining  the  enormous  work  of  constructing  even 
a  score  miles  of  such  a  finished  perfect  wall  as  this,  climbing 
up,  angling  down,  now  surmounting  a  lofty  peak  and  again 
descending  the  depth  of  a  valley  with  always  the  same  precision 
of  outlines,  capricious  in  its  progress  but  always  directed  by 
an  intelligent  engineering  skill  which  denotes  a  perfect  mastery 
of  science  and  art. 

The  wall,  thus  constructed  of  the  solidest  material  put  together 
with  all  the  perfection  of  the  mason's  craft,  conforms  to  the 
undulations  of  the  hills  by  ramps  on  the  easier  slopes  and  by 
stairways  on  the  abrupter  ascents  as  it  follows  the  mountains, 
disappearing  behind  a  lofty  peak  to  reappear  a  mile  or  so  dis- 
tant, winding  on  its  descent  to  the  valley  beneath. 

Looking  down  from  the  wall  upon  the  jumble  of  maroon 
covered  peaks,  mounds  of  blackened  rock,  cones  and  ridges  of 
brown  slopes  broken  by  gullies  and  little  valleys,  the  whole 
scene  cheerless  and  melancholy  in  the  December  morning;  not 
a  single  tree  to  break  the  monotony  of  stone,  sand  and  clay, 
with  only  a  scant  mantle  of  coarse  grass  thrown  over  the  naked- 
ness of  the  weird  mountain  aspect  or  the  white  line  of  a  frozen 
mountain  stream,  the  eyes  revert  from  this  display  of  nature's 
own  handiwork  again  and  again  to  that  sinuous  outline  of 
crenelated  and  betowered  wall,  following  its  zigzag  curves 
and  straight  away  over  the  meanderings  of  the  mountains  until 
it  becomes  like  a  thin  thread  upon  a  distant  peak. 

We  linger  long  amid  this  desolate  scene,  and  again  the 
imagination  goes  back  to  the  day  of  the  wall's  construction 
when  these  lonely  mountains,  then  the  scene  of  intense  activity, 
resounded  with  the  tools  of  the  workman  and  the  sharp  orders 
of  command,  as  one  after  another  the  heavy  stones  were  slung 
into  place  fresh  cut  from  the  hands  of  the  artisan.  In  the 
fierce  heat  of  summer  and  in  the  cold  wintry  desert  blast,  on 


102    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

they  labored,  forging  their  way  over  one  mountain  after  an- 
other, leaving  behind  them  the  finished  work  as  a  monument 
to  their  own  suffering,  fortitude  and  skill.  A  vast  army  of 
women  attended  these  laborers  to  cook  their  food,  to  carry  their 
water,  to  search  the  steep  slopes  of  the  rugged  mountains  again 
and  again  for  roots  and  herbs  and  grass  in  which  they  found 
their  fuel  to  cook  their  meager  fare.  And  as  the  labor  went 
forward,  more  were  pressed  into  the  service  that  the  work 
might  be  earlier  completed  in  order  that  the  sick,  the  suffer- 
ing and  the  dying  might  be  allowed  to  travel  homeward  toward 
those  far  distant  provinces  whence  they  had  come  and  which 
many  never  looked  upon  again.  Ah !  to  them  the  under- 
taking, in  the  slow  process  of  construction  from  day  to  day, 
seemed  to  rival  even  the  very  forces  of  nature  in  the  enormity 
of  the  project  contemplated. 

But  with  all  that,  the  wall  was  actually  finished  with  less 
hardship  to  the  common  masses  than  any  great  public  enter- 
prise of  the  Orient.  We  look  upon  it  as  the  most  practical 
attempt  to  approach  international  peace  ever  made,  besides 
which  the  mere  compact  of  modern  treaties  was  as  naught.  In 
that  wall  was  found  the  declaration  of  a  whole  people:  that 
within  lay  their  own  land  of  peace  and  that  without  they 
had  no  ambition  for  conquest  nor  greed  of  territorial  advance- 
ment. 

They  are  veritably  the  great  Walls  of  Peace.  They  are  a 
monument  to  the  Confucian  aim  of  universal  amity. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CHINESE  EMIGRANTS 

Love  of  home  is  the  chief  Chinese  characteristic  which  pre- 
vents them  from  a  wholesale  expatriation  toward  the  more 
modern  countries  of  abundance.  Any  study  of  the  Chinese 
would  be  incomplete  without  including  the  story  of  the  won- 
derful influence  even  the  comparatively  few  Chinese  emigrants 
have  obtained  abroad. 

It  is  surprising  when  one  considers  the  poverty  of  the 
Chinese,  how  little  emigration  there  was  before  the  passage 
of  exclusion  laws  against  them  in  the  newer  countries  of 
the  world. 

Few  realize  the  large  cost  of  food  and  clothing  in  China. 
Consider  the  following  rough  example:  To  a  Chinese  skilled 
laborer  in  the  country  district — outside  of  the  Treaty  Ports, 
where  wages,  owing  to  the  use  of  foreign  tools  and  other  condi- 
tions, are  higher — we  will  give,  say,  fifteen  cents  gold  a  day. 
With  this  fifteen  cents  gold  we  will  find  that  he  can  buy  about 
four  pounds  of  rice.  Now,  the  same  English  artisan — and  I 
select  the  English  as  a  fair  international  wage  average — will 
make,  we  will  assume,  five  shillings  with  which  he  can  buy 
forty-five  pounds  of  flour.  Since  wheat  flour  is  considered  as 
possessing  about  one-third  more  blood  value  than  rice,  pound 
for  pound,  the  English  workman  thus  daily  earns  the  equiva- 
lent of  sixty  pounds  of  rice  as  against  the  four  pounds  of  the 
Chinese;  or  say  that  the  English  wages,  all  other  things  being 
equal,  is  fifteen  times  as  much  as  that  of  the  Chinese.  I 
have  purposely  put  the  English  wage  low  and  the  Chinese  wage 
high  so  as  not  to  exaggerate  the  illustration. 

Now,  this  is  only  a  Chinese  disadvantage  as  regards  food. 

103 


104    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Every  Chinese  woman  ought  to  have  a  pound  of  rice  daily 
and  a  workingman  a  pound  and  a  half,  so  we  can  understand 
that  when  the  whole  day's  wage  goes  for  four  pounds  of  rice 
for  an  entire  family  of  dependents  there  is  little  or  nothing 
left  for  clothing  and  shelter,  and  none  for  such  luxuries  as 
soap. 

Hence  the  Chinese  has  to  practice  the  meanest  economy  in 
many  ways.  He  perhaps  throughout  his  whole  life  will  never 
have  the  pleasure  of  wearing  a  new  garment,  being  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  second,  third  and  other  handed-on  cloth- 
ing, shops  of  which  abound  everywhere  in  China  and  which 
renew  their  stocks  from  the  worn  clothing  of  the  comparatively 
better-to-do,  who  trade  or  sell  them  to  help  pay  for  the  new. 
These  much  overworked  garments  are  always,  however,  most 
anxiously  cared  for  by  whoever  may  happen  to  be  their  possessor. 
As  soon  as  any  part  becomes  in  the  least  thin,  a  patch  is  im- 
mediately applied.  The  owner  isn't  going  to  take  any  chances 
in  the  resistance  of  the  cloth.  At  night,  frequently  to  save  the 
clothes,  they  will  climb  under  the  quilt  entirely  naked  with 
their  precious  clothing  laid  upon  the  quilt  above  them  for 
extra  warmth. 

After  satisfying  his  stomach,  the  Chinese  laborer  has,  in 
fact,  little  left  for  his  clothing.  Wool,  although  very  much 
needed,  particularly  in  Northern  China,  has  a  prohibitive  price 
to  him.  As  a  makeshift  he  uses  a  quilted  garment  of  cotton 
cloth,  padded  with  cotton  wool.  The  thirty-inch  cotton  sold 
in  England  for  6d  costs  nearly  a  third  more  in  China,  or  say 
7d,  that  being  the  wage  of  an  artisan  for  one  day  approximately. 
The  thirty-six-inch  American  product  of  cotton  cloth  is  very 
much  desired  for  certain  purposes  and  sells  for  correspondingly 
more.  A  pound  of  cotton  wool  costs  likewise  ten  hours'  labor 
of  the  Chinese  workman.  Can  you  wonder  that  the  common 
Chinese  day  laborers  cannot  afford  new  garments,  even  of 
cotton  ? 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  105 

Then  in  regard  to  his  house  rent  he  is  also  at  a  great  dis- 
advantage. A  miserable  low  lean-to  will  cost  him  two  days' 
wage  per  month,  while  a  four-walled  hovel  will  take  five  days 
out  of  his  monthly  wage. 

Hence  we  see  nearly  the  whole  life  of  the  Chinese  laborer 
is  absorbed  in  filling  his  stomach  with  the  scanty  rice,  using 
meat  merely  as  sauces  for  his  rice,  very  inferior  pork  and 
beef,  costing  him  nearly  a  day's  wage  per  pound. 

Can  we  blame  him  for  not  washing  himself  with  soap  when 
a  pound  of  the  common  English  or  American  kind,  only  suffi- 
cient to  last  him  and  his  family  a  week  with  the  washing,  will 
cost  him  one-sixth  of  his  weekly  wage? 

Amid  such  dreadful  poverty  as  this,  it  is  impossible  to  get 
even  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  best  in  a  man.  The 
most  skillful  artisan  intelligence  soon  sinks  to  the  level  of  the 
degradation  of  poverty  about  him. 

But  away  from  his  own  beloved  land  the  poor  underfed 
Chinese  coolie  has  given  a  far  better  account  of  himself  than 
he  ever  could  have  done  back  in  the  land  of  his  birth. 

See  what  he  has  done  in  the  Federated  Malay  States 
which  have  advanced  far  along  modern  lines,  having  spent 
millions  of  pounds  sterling  in  public  improvements  and  being 
the  owner  of  a  fine  system  of  railroads,  fully  paid  for,  and 
income  producing  and  being  in  nowise  indebted  for  such  im- 
provements, all  due  to  the  Chinese  who  number  433,000  as 
against  the  native  Malay  population  of  420,000 — marvelous 
accomplishment  and  perhaps  without  a  parallel  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  This  wonderful  result  is  absolutely  due  to  the 
Chinese  who  developed  the  tin  mines  of  those  States  wholly 
by  their  own  rude,  unc'apitalized  labor. 

The  Chinese  coolie,  upon  the  first  demonstration  of  the 
great  tin  wealth  of  the  Federated  Malay  States,  commenced 
to  arrive  in  an  orderly  manner  in  just  such  numbers  as  the 
demand  for  their  labor  existed.  These  emigrants  came  en- 


106    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

tirely  destitute  and  clad  in  only  the  few  rags  of  their  class. 
Each  coolie  as  he  came  entered  into  a  sort  of  a  partnership 
called  a  Tcongsi. 

The  Icongsi,  as  a  contract,  resolved  the  question  of  the  un- 
employed in  a  natural  and  easy  manner.  It  is  entirely  different 
from  the  aparcero  system  of  the  Philippines,  where  the  laborer 
is  required  to  go  into  debt  for  the  first  advances  of  food,  cloth- 
ing and  tools.  According  to  the  Icongsi  agreement,  the  newly 
arrived  coolie  received  from  his  Chinese  associates,  who  were 
already  working  in  the  tin  mines,  sufficient  rations  to  maintain 
him  until  the  first  pay  day.  Or  more  than  that,  under  some 
Icongsi  contracts,  the  coolie  was  advanced  an  allowance  of  money 
for  both  food  and  clothing,  was  transported  to  the  Quinta  Valley 
or  other  place  of  his  employment  and  maintained  until  his 
labor  entitled  him  to  a  divided  share  of  the  product  obtained 
by  the  common  labor  of  the  many  other  coolies  in  Icongsi.  The 
dividend  declared,  the  coolie  received  his  share  from  which  he 
repaid  the  advances,  together  with  a  reasonable  percentage  of 
interest,  the  balance  thus  representing  his  own  individual 
earnings. 

In  the  early  period  of  tin  exploitation  this  system  was  of 
particularly  great  advantage  as  it  carried  the  coolies  over  the 
long  speculative  period  of  preliminary  labor  necessary  to  arrive 
at  the  ore  beds  which  generally  lie  at  some  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  surface. 

Thanks  to  this  natural  and  economical  method  the  welfare 
of  the  Federated  Malay  States  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds. 
Capital  and  labor  became  one  and  the  same  in  wresting  from 
nature  its  wonderful  wealth  of  tin  which  for  years  supplied 
three-fourths  of  the  whole  world's  product  of  that  metal,  and 
which  even  today  represents  two-thirds  of  the  globe's  output. 

Although  tin  has  been  known  to  exist  in  large  quantities 
from  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  had  been  exploited  in 
a  half-hearted  way  by  the  Dutch,  it  remained  for  the  Chinese, 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  107 

without  capital  and  organization,  to  give  the  world  the  tre- 
mendous quantities  of  the  product  which  in  the  last  forty  years 
have  been  exported  from  that  country. 

The  British,  who  were  the  indirect  and  accidental  cause  of 
this  Chinese  development  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  learned 
their  first  lessons  in  the  proper  treatment  of  the  Chinese  when 
the  railroad  administration  published  an  order  prohibiting  the 
Chinese  from  riding  in  the  same  coaches  with  the  Europeans. 
Contrary  to  every  idea  of  natural  justice  understood  by  the 
English  at  home,  the  most  besotted  and  offensive  European  was 
actually  given  a  right  which  was  denied  the  most  correct  and 
proper  Chinese — the  right  to  fully  enjoy  transportation  on 
railroads  which  had  been  actually  built  by  the  profits  of  Chinese 
industry. 

This  discrimination,  however,  only  lasted  a  very  short  time, 
for  some  of  the  leading  Chinese  threatened  to  close  up  their 
business  and  go  home  to  China  if  the  injustice  continued.  The 
result  was  that  this  un-British-like  blunder  was  more  quickly 
corrected  than  in  the  instance  of  the  lesser  injustice  of  the 
Shanghai  bund  garden,  where  a  conspicuous  sign  still  reads; 
"No  Chinese  Allowed." 

A  hundred  years  from  now  history  will  cite  such  examples 
of  small  minded  contempt  against  the  Chinese  and  not  wonder 
at  the  reluctance  of  these  people  to  open  their  doors  to  us. 

A  digression  here  may  prove  interesting  to  those  who  care 
to  know  something  about  this  Chinese-made  city  of  Singapore 
which,  on  account  of  its  immediate  location  near  the  equator, 
is  generally  looked  upon  as  an  unbearably  hot  place.  A  lady 
told  me  that  she  had  received  special  instructions  from  her 
son  who  had  never  been  in  the  Straits  Settlements  not  to  delay 
an  hour  in  Singapore  in  case  she  could  not  make  her  connecting 
ship,  but  to  proceed  by  rail  immediately  northward  to  Penang. 
The  fact  is  that  I  was  actually  cold  in  Singapore  while  wear- 
ing a  woolen  suit  on  my  last  visit  there.  Although  it  is 


108    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

probably  one  of  the  hottest  places  on  earth  at  certain  seasons, 
still  in  the  winter  months  when  the  sun  goes  down  or  it  is 
clouded  and  a  strong  wind  blows  cool  and  agreeable,  the  cli- 
mate is  very  pleasant.  The  direct  actinic  rays  of  the  sun  are, 
however,  very  depressing  and  at  almost  any  time  of  the  day 
extreme  activity  will  produce  perspiration. 

Singapore  is  a  city  which  shows  what  the  Chinese  can  do 
when  they  have  the  chance.  Wide,  spacious  streets  with  arch- 
ways in  front  of  the  houses  covering  public  sidewalks  of  cement, 
brick  or  stone,  always  kept  scrupulously  clean  and  not  only 
cleansed  by  the  occupants  of  the  buildings  but  likewise  by  the 
strong  antiseptic  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  heavy  tropical  rains. 
Under  these  covered  walkways  a  part  of  the  wonderful  display" 
of  Singapore  Oriental  life  passes  along,  and  even  a  greater 
part  rolls  along  in  rickshaws  through  the  broad  streets  which 
at  night  time  are  brilliantly  lighted.  The  front  of  the  cement 
plastered  two  and  three  storied  buildings  are  painted  in  lively 
colors  of  deep  indigoes,  rich  rose  and  maroon.  The  interior 
of  the  shops  which  are  all  open  to  the  street  are  clean  and 
well  stocked.  The  smaller  shops  are  kept  by  Madrassis  who, 
seated  on  their  crossed  legs  among  their  wares,  form  a  marked 
contrast  with  the  bustling  Chinese  who  are  busy  about  every 
detail  of  their  trade.  A  very  large  amount  of  small  domestic 
purchasing  to  supply  the  wants  of  this  large,  purely  commercial 
city  is  apparent  on  all  sides.  Fruit  and  provision  vendors 
exhibit  their  scanty  stocks  along  the  streets  and  on  pleasant 
evenings  the  highways  are  alive  with  hawkers  of  every  descrip- 
tion. Two  things  impress  one  in  Singapore,  first  that  the 
Chinese  will  keep  themselves  clean  if  they  have  the  slightest 
chance  to  do  so,  and  secondly  that  they  are  a  superior  race, 
naturally  accepted  as  leaders  by  the  weaker  races  of  the  Orient. 
Chinese  cleanliness  in  Singapore  is  apparent  everywhere,  the 
native  rickshaw  men,  naked  except  for  a  small  cloth  about  the 
loins,  shine  resplendent  with  frequent  ablutions.  Half  naked 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  109 

cooks  with  immaculate  hands  work  over  the  pots  and  kettles 
which  shine  with  scouring.  Everywhere  the  Chinese  are  of  a 
clean  and  orderly  appearance.  Their  shops  and  stores  are  fre- 
quently spick  and  span.  I  looked  at  a  crowd  of  Chinese  laborers 
attending  an  open  air  theatre,  set  up  along  the  canal  bank. 
The  large  attentive  audience,  just  from  their  work  at  the  dinner 
hour,  followed  the  falsetto  monologue  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  usual  high-keyed  strings.  All  present  were  washed  and 
shining  with  the  air  heavy  with  perfumed  soap.  Instead  of 
putting  the  heavier  work  on  the  cheap  Malay  and  Indian 
laborers,  the  Chinese  keep  the  labor  to  themselves,  although 
they  could  probably  get  it  done  cheaper  by  the  other  races. 
I  passed  four  coolies  lifting  heavy  bales  on  their  shoulders  for 
a  go-down,  the  large  development  of  their  biceps  showing  that 
this  was  their  accustomed  method  rather  than  using  the  pole 
commonly  used  in  China  which,  although  it  develops  shoulders, 
does  little  for  the  arms.  The  thought  occurred  to  me  that 
this  change  in  the  manner  of  lifting  came  from  the  superior 
strength  of  these  emigrant  Chinese,  due  to  their  better  nourish- 
ment. 

In  regard  to  the  Chinese  as  natural  leaders,  I  was  surprised 
to  find  them  bossing  gangs  of  native  laborers,  acting  as  in- 
spectors of  the  trams  and  railways,  directing  all  manner  of  work 
in  a  quiet  orderly  fashion,  and  looked  up  to  generally  by  all 
those  with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  They  speak  the  native 
languages  without  exception  and  assume  the  leadership  in  an 
easy,  modest  assumption  of  authority. 

I  had  been  twice  in  Singapore  before,  but  had  missed  two 
of  the  features  most  frequently  mentioned — the  Chetty  money 
changers  and  the  fly  catchers  in  the  Botanical  Gardens,  both 
of  them  grafters  in  their  respective  ways.  I  never  had  occasion 
to  deal  with  the  former  and  of  the  latter  there  was  none 
budded.  I  had  heard  wonderful  tales  told  of  the  ability  of 
these  Chetty  money  changers  as  lightning  calculators;  that 


110    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

they  would  have  none  of  the  Chinese  abacus,  but  computed 
everything  mentally  with  only  occasional  recourse  to  written 
figures  on  particularly  intricate  sums.  I  therefore  approached 
one  of  their  shops  with  that  proper  feeling  of  inferiority  which 
goes  with  an  approach  to  expert  greatness,  and  proffered  a 
couple  of  sovereigns  to  the  different  shades  of  skin  and  dress 
which  were  sprawled  in  general  decoration  on  the  large  mat- 
covered  platform  raised  waist  high  to  those  standing  on  the 
street  and  which  formed  both  the  floor  and  the  counter  of  this 
strange  banking  room.  Amid  the  jabbering  throng  which 
stood  before  the  money  throne  I  stood  unnoticed  with  my 
sovereigns  in  my  hand  until  one  of  the  fellows,  seeing  the 
gleam  of  the  gold,  apprehended  my  request  for  an  exchange 
to  rupees.  With  a  soiled  slate  before  him  he  then  went  into 
a  five-minute  trance,  figuring  out  a  single  proposition  which 
any  American  schoolboy  would  have  done  mentally  in  a  second. 

At  the  end  of  his  laborious  reckoning  he  finally  announced 
with  considerable  caution  the  result  of  his  computation,  and 
overcome  by  his  greatness  and  the  solemnity  of  his  bearing,  I 
gladly  accepted  the  result  as  he  had  it,  well  aware  of  the 
extortionate  profit  he  was  making  on  the  small  advantage  of 
two  pounds. 

After  the  Chetty  had  given  me  my  exchange,  one  of  his  col- 
leagues, a  young  black  chap  in  a  flowing  gown,  properly  pleased 
with  the  easy  profit,  said  in  a  fierce  stentorian  tone  that  re- 
minded me  of  the  Egyptian  Arabs: 

"Sire,  you  come  here!  My  good  bank!  My  great  bank; 
all  great  English  come  here !  I  do  good  change." 

And  he,  in  his  turn,  so  overcame  me  by  his  fierceness  and 
blackness  that  I  modestly  craved  him  to  act  as  my  interpreter 
in  paying  off  the  rickshaw  coolie.  This  service  the  black  thief 
gladly  undertook,  inducing  the  rickshaw  coolie,  an  honest 
Chinese  sort,  to  insist  upon  an  extortionate  payment  in  order 
that  the  Chetty  might  obtain  a  graft  commission.  Much  of 


Entrance  to  Ming  Tombs. 

Little  Chinese  John!    Our  best  friend 
and  may  he  always  remain  so. 


Typical  approach  to  China's  1001 
ivalled  cities. 

A   Lapidary. 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  111 

the  interest  I  had  had  in  Chettys  vanished  from  that  moment, 
and  I  left  the  "great,  good  bankers"  with  a  diminished  idea 
of  their  skill  as  changers,  but  with  an  increased  estimate  of 
their  knavery. 

The  Botanical  Gardens  of  Singapore  are  world  famed.  When 
I  visited  them  first  ten  years  ago  the  gardens  included  a  fine 
exhibition  of  tropical  animals,  especially  monkeys,  but  this  no 
longer  exists.  In  a  double  rickshaw  or  gJierry  you  ride  down 
past  the  interesting  Raffles'  Museum  along  the  beautiful  orchard 
road  with  its  queer  and  beautiful  sights.  Flower  gardens  are 
luxuriant,  and  the  rich  jumble  of  the  native  plants,  trees  and 
shrubs  makes  a  beautiful  picture  indeed.  Rickshaw  men  with 
wonderful  strength  strain  their  sleek  bodies  forward  as  they 
pull  two  passengers  in  a  single  vehicle  uphill,  a  feat  that  I 
have  known  no  other  class  of  rickshaw  pullers  to  do,  except 
in  Singapore,  where  all  the  rickshaw  men  are  Chinese. 

Some  unusual  signs  are  to  be  noted,  such  as  "Plants,  snakes 
and  emu  for  sale  here/'  and  others  equally  curious.  The  Hong- 
kong and  Shanghai  Chinese,  who  are  particularly  boastful  of 
their  origin,  display  such  signs  as  "Ah  Wung,  Washer  Man  from 
Shanghai,"  or  perhaps  "Wa  Fun,  Carpenter  from  Hongkong." 
Evidently  they  intended  to  take  no  chances  in  being  mistaken 
for  what  they  considered  the  commoner  types  of  Kehk,  Dychoos 
and  ITylams. 

The  Botanical  Gardens  are  so  arranged  that  from  the  sum- 
mit of  a  low  hill,  where  the  bandstand  is  erected,  an  excellent 
view  of  the  flower  beds,  plants,  shrubs  and  trees  can  be  seen. 
Beautiful  slender  palms,  hardly  thicker  than  a  broom  handle 
but  rising  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet;  exquisite  fan  palms  and 
also  beautiful  varieties  of  other  palms,  including  the  Royal, 
the  cocoanut,  the  date  and  the  betel.  Our  attention  is  par- 
ticularly held  by  a  pathway  bordered  with  the  flaming  red 
stemmed  palm.  Many  of  the  flowers  familiar  to  us  from  our 
childhood  are  here,  as  well  as  some  of  the  common  old  rag 

8 


112    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

weeds  apparently  almost  growing  up  in  a  few  days.  Our  touch- 
me-not,  the  princes'  feathers  and  bachelor  buttons  are  there 
just  as  they  are  at  home.  In  the  little  lake  are  beautiful 
specimens  of  floating  lilies  and  other  water  plants.  But  the 
Mecca  of  our  visit  is  the  Fernery — a  sort  of  an  arbor  built 
down  in  a  shady  spot.  An  attendant  shows  us  the  mountain 
budding  orchid  which  he  grows  in  ordinary  flower  pots  instead 
of  hanging  or  clinging  as  do  most  of  the  emphytitic  plants, 
and  then  at  last  the  fly  catcher. 

From  my  boyhood  lessons  in  botany  I  had  always  wanted 
to  see  this  plant  which,  with  an  animal  like  intelligence,  at- 
tracts and  devours  flies.  The  attendant  showed  us  three  of 
them — two  buds,  growing  up  on  the  vine  about  the  height 
of  a  man's  head,  and  the  other  a  full  flower  hanging  down 
from  the  top  of  the  arbor  over  us.  We  directed  our  attention 
to  the  latter  and  listened  to  the  words  of  the  attendant,  a 
fine  looking  Madrassi,  as  he  spoke  in  his  quaint  English. 

"That  is  it !  The  fly  catcher !  That  one  hanging !  It  looks 
like  a  swan.  Now  it  is  closed,  yet  has  caught  the  flies  and 
like  the  dog  it  is  fattening.  By  and  by  it  will  open  up  and 
as  it  opens  a  bad  smell  comes!  Very  bad!  It  comes  out 
even  to  where  you  are  standing.  It  looks  beautiful  inside  when 
open.  White  with  brown  spots,  but  oh!  how  bad  smelling! 
But  the  flies  smell  it  from  far  off  and  come  swarming.  They 
fight  each  other  to  get  into  it,  for  they  think  it  is  something 
dead.  Then  when  the  flies  are  filling  the  inside  of  the  flower 
it  closes  and  like  a  buzzard  sleeps  because  it  is  filled." 

We  followed  the  clear  spoken  broken  English  of  the  Mad- 
rassi and  looked  with  awe  towards  this  strange  work  of  God. 
There  it  hung!  just  above  our  heads  about  the  size  of  a  lady's 
hand.  A  strange  thing  to  describe.  Something  like  a  dead 
chick  hung  up  by  the  neck  or  perhaps  a  nautilus  shell.  A 
dull,  lifeless  looking  object  with  a  long  spiral  tail,  or  perhaps 
you  might  say  a  sort  of  a  colorless  dead  pod  growing  out  of 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  113 

those  leafless  vines  which  straggled  down  to  the  earth  a  dozen 
feet  away.  A  sinister  looking  object  on  those  barren  vines.  No 
need  of  leaves  to  nurse  this  strange  creature  suspended  in  the 
air,  attached  to  the  ground  and  yet  existing  upon  the  flying 
things  which  it  ruthlessly  trapped  and  slaughtered. 

Underneath  the  dripping  ferns  with  the  warm  rain  falling 
upon  us,  we  silently  riveted  our  gaze  upon  this  strange  creation, 
our  deep  reverie  being  finally  broken  by  the  Madrassi,  who  con- 
tinued : 

"Yes,  that  is  it!  Very  wonderful!  The  other  day  an 
American  gentleman  was  saying  that  it  was  the  verree  greatest 
thing  he  was  ever  observing,  because  it  was  the  only  thing 
that  ever  made  anything  of  itself  by  raising  a  — ,  I  shall  say 
odor." 

Near  the  Baffles  Hotel  is  the  so-called  native  city  in  which 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  combine  in  an  exposition  of  vice 
and  immorality.  It  puts  the  spots  of  shame  on  the  cheeks 
of  a  white  man  to  see  women  of  his  own  race  in  the  low  deg- 
radition  of  their  natures  going  down  to  the  very  depths  of 
Oriental  debauchery,  and  in  those  very  centers  where  we  most 
boast  of  our  superior  civilization.  In  passing  across  this 
quarter,  the  doors  of  whose  dwellings  are  filled  with  young 
Chinese,  Japanese,  Malay  and  Indian  girls,  all  plying  their 
loathesome  trade  in  competition  with  vicious  women  of  our 
own  race,  the  nauseating  smell  of  the  open  dorians  on  the 
baskets  of  the  fruit  vendors,  from  the  curbs  before  the  soliciting 
line  of  bawds,  seems  to  come  with  a  peculiar  relief  to  one  who 
is  compelled  to  pass  through  the  strumpet  quarter. 

A  word  about  this  fruit  called  the  dorian  may  be  interest- 
ing. About  ten  years  ago  I  made  my  first  acquaintance  with 
the  dorian  right  here  in  Singapore.  I  was  passing  along  the 
street  at  night  when  I  was  assailed  by  a  most  frightful  odor. 
Looking  over  to  where  the  stench  came  from  I  saw  a  number  of 
people  with  a  lantern  leaning  over  and  intently  examining 


114    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

what  I  believed  to  be  some  dead  body  they  had  just  pulled 
from  the  sewer.  Being  more  curious  then  than  now,  I  hastened 
over  into  the  very  midst  of  the  sickening  smell  and  was  dumb- 
founded to  find  that  the  group  was  merely  cutting  open  a 
strange  looking  melon,  something  like  a  pineapple  in  appear- 
ance and  color,  but  with  a  rind  of  hard  shell  with  points  of 
stickle-back  as  sharp  as  needles.  I  retired  quite  faint  because  of 
the  odor,  and  upon  making  inquiries  the  next  day  found  that  the 
foul  smelling  fruit  was  the  dorian.  Ten  years  passed  before 
I  again  smelt  the  odor  of  the  dorian,  but  I  found  that  it  was 
still  there  and  had  lost  none  of  its  old  repugnance.  It  seems 
that  it  is  the  husk  and  not  the  white  delicate  pulp  that  smells. 
There  were  especially  large  numbers  of  them  upon  my  last 
visit  to  Singapore,  and  somewhat  ashamed  of  the  white  feather 
I  had  previously  shown  them,  I  approached  a  native  who  had 
a  pile  of  them  which  he  carefully  weighed  with  a  primitive 
scale.  He  had  some  of  them  cut  open  to  make,  as  it  were,  a 
very  large  and  noisy  advertisement  of  his  wares.  I  purchased 
and  was  about  to  eat  one  of  the  slices,  but  suddenly  the  odor 
became  so  sickening  that  I  threw  it  from  me,  to  the  great 
amazement  of  the  vendor.  Those  who  have  tasted  the  dorian 
say  that  it  has  a  sweetish-sour  taste,  a  qualification  probably 
due  to  the  odor  being  mixed  up  with  the  taste  in  a  most 
contradictory  fashion.  I  will  not  argue  as  to  the  taste,  but 
as  to  the  smell  there  can  be  no  argument.  It  speaks  for  itself. 

The  open  air  restaurants  are  very  appetizing  in  their  cleanli- 
ness and  toothsome  vapors  as  prepared  by  the  Chinese  cooks. 
All  the  delicacies  favored  by  the  Chinese  are  indulged  in  at 
these  small  al  fresco  restaurants.  Dainty  little  mouthfuls  and 
titbits  are  served  with  tiny  cups  of  tea  from  diminutive  pots 
to  great  hulking  Chinese  whom  one  would  hardly  think  would 
appreciate  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  service. 

The  temples  of  the  Chinese,  such  as  they  are,  are  well 
maintained.  On  the  main,  side  thoroughfare,  near  the  quarter 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  115 

just  referred  to,  is  a  wide,  spacious  temple  with  well  swept 
courts  bearing  the  marks  of  the  prosperity  which  is  reflected 
from  everything  Chinese  in  Singapore.  The  Chinese  emigrants 
in  the  dollar  chasing  absorption  of  their  daily  trades,  however, 
not  being  really  a  religious  people  by  instinct,  forget  their 
traditional  religion  frequently  when  away  from  home  except 
when  some  calamity  overtakes  them,  when  they  again  turn  to 
the  gods  of  their  fathers.  Many  of  the  superstitions  charged 
to  the  Chinese  are  really  a  mere  observance  of  customs  which 
are  respected  because  they  are  old  without  any  belief  in  them 
whatsoever. 

An  amusing  incident  of  the  return  to  one  of  their  practices 
occurred  during  the  cholera  epidemic  at  Singapore  in  1906, 
many  of  the  coolie  class  dying  daily  until  finally  some  of  the 
Chinese  bethought  themselves  of  having  sacrifices  and  services 
to  drive  away  the  Jiantu,  as  the  devil  is  called  in  the  vernac- 
ular. Accordingly  they  applied  to  the  English  authorities  for 
a  permit  to  have  a  street  parade,  which  was  denied  them  on 
the  ground  that  the  object  of  the  parade  was  a  foolish  super- 
stition. Finally,  by  dint  of  persistence,  permission  was  ob- 
tained. Several  volunteer  Chinese  were  chained  by  the  neck 
and  dragged  through  the  streets  as  an  indication  of  penance. 
Pigs  and  goats  were  then  sacrificed  and,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  the  Jiantu  immediately  vanished  and  the  epidemic  ceased 
entirely  shortly  thereafter;  indeed  a  peculiar  coincidence  that 
the  cholera  had  run  its  course  at  the  same  time  that  the 
sacrifices  were  made. 

In  Singapore  an  opportunity  is  given  to  observe  the  great 
advantage  which  the  Chinese  have  over  the  Indian  peoples  in 
not  having  their  trades  and  callings  entangled  and  their  very 
existence  involved  in  the  ancient  laws  of  caste.  The  Chinese 
are  too  virile  and  healthful  minded  to  allow  the  caste  type  of 
religion  to  throw  its  shadow  upon  their  national  life  and  dwarf 
the  usefulness  of  their  most  serviceable  classes  of  labor.  Com- 


116    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

pared  with  caste-bound  people  the  ignorant  coolie,  self-possessed 
in  his  own  lusty  independence,  is  a  prince  of  freedom  whose 
happy  democratic  way  places  him  higher  on  the  throne  of 
racial  respect  than  a  Maharajah,  agleam  in  his  chains  of 
pearls  and  ablaze  with  his  treasures  of  diamonds. 

The  Chinese  coolies  themselves,  in  a  good  natural  way,  laugh 
at  the  superstitions  and  castes  of  the  Indians,  and  while  the 
latter  are  squatting  in  the  dirt  eating  with  their  hands  out 
of  a  common  dish,  the  Chinese  laborer,  with  his  naked  body 
pink  from  the  bath  and  exercise  and  fresh  from  the  barber, 
looks  out  from  under  his  sun  hat  in  an  amused  way  as  upright 
and  head  held  high  he  eats  his  food  with  his  chop  sticks,  a 
king  amidst  the  crouched  figures  about  him. 

The  Chinese  emigrant  coolies  are  more  careful  of  their 
health  abroad  than  at  home.  It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  a 
lot  of  stevedore  coolies,  after  they  have  done  their  turn  at 
the  dock  and  with  their  almost  naked  bodies  fairly  steaming 
with  perspiration,  very  gravely  open  and  cover  themselves  with 
their  umbrellas  to  avoid  being  wet  by  the  rain,  for  the  very 
good  reason  that  experience  has  shown  them  that  falling  rain 
on  a  bare  back  brings  on  colds  and  rheumatism. 

And  now  that  we  have  spoken  at  some  length  of  the 
Chinese  emigrants,  generally  and  rather  digressively,  what  shall 
we  say  about  them  here  in  America?  Nothing  much,  for  our 
whole  attitude  has  been  so  unjust  toward  the  Chinese  that  the 
subject  of  the  Chinese  emigrant  in  the  United  States  is  not 
a  very  agreeable  topic.  There  are  not  many  of  them  here — 
perhaps  only  a  scant  half  hundred  thousand.  About  one  out 
of  every  ten  American  citizens  is  a  negro  and  a  very  large 
percentage  of  our  white  citizenship  of  alien  birth  is  not  very 
much  of  an  improvement  on  the  negro,  and  still  we  consider 
our  country  and  its  citizenship  to  be  altogether  too  good  for 
the  Chinese,  the  most  normal,  industrious  and  desirable  alien 
who  has  ever  come  to  our  shores. 


The  Chinese  Emigrants  117 

But  patient,  plodding  yet  sensitive  Chinese  John  will  not 
bother  us.  There  are  other  parts  of  the  world  where  he  is  more 
welcomed  and  where  he  can  have  more  happiness  and  prosperity ; 
and  then  besides  his  own  country  is  offering  him  more  and  more 
every  year.  No,  he  will  never  bother  us.  He  really  has  never 
liked  America — a  country  that  has  never  tried  to  understand 
him  and  whose  restriction  laws  have  pilloried  him  out,  even 
before  the  negroes,  as  an  inferior  creature  whose  industry, 
however,  was  a  menace  to  the  lazy,  idle  security  of  the  ne'erdo- 
well  part  of  the  American  commonwealths.  The  Gary  law  will 
go  down  as  a  very  black  page  in  American  legislation  to  which 
eventually  we  will  turn  with  sorrow,  since  the  exclusion  of  the 
Chinese  for  injustice  has  hardly  a  parallel  in  the  world's  his- 
tory. The  abuse  of  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific  coast,  crystallized 
in  absurdly  and  un-American  hysterical  laws,  has  spread  over  the 
whole  country  and  the  Chinese  are  driven  harder  until  now  even 
an  American  citizen — a  native  born  American  citizen  who 
happens  to  have  had  Chinese  parents — cannot  send  back  to 
China  for  his  fiancee,  although  even  naturalized  American 
citizens  of  other  nationalities  may  do  so.  How  can  American 
justice  allow  this  strange  and  absurd  application  of  a  harshly 
discriminating  law  to  continue? 

And  with  such  laws  as  these  do  we  wonder  that  the  Chinese 
in  California  have  dwindled  from  75,000  in  1880  to  36,000  in 
1910,  and  that  they  are  still  going  home,  never  to  return? 


CHAPTER  XII 

HONGKONG,    THE    BRIGHTEST    JEWEL    OF    THE    BRITISH 
COLONIAL   CROWN 

Hongkong  stands  as  a  monument  to  British  pluck  and  luck 
in  the  Orient.  Exacted  by  the  Indian  opium  merchants  as 
an  additional  indemnity  extortion  upon  the  Chinese,  after  the 
opium  war,  for  a  long  time  its  career  was  so  checkered  with 
disaster  as  to  lead  one  of  its  governors  to  recommend  its 
abandonment.  About  that  time,  however,  gold  being  dis- 
covered in  California  and  labor  being  in  great  demand  in  that 
State,  Hongkong  became  the  lively  center  of  a  large  deporta- 
tion of  Chinese  emigrants.  Held  together  by  this  activity,  the 
little  isle  and  colony  finally  felt  the  strong  impulse  of  its 
growth,  which  today  makes  it  one  of  the  most  spectacular  cities 
of  the  world.  If  ever  England,  by  the  misfortunes  of  war,  be 
stripped  of  all  her  foreign  territorial  colonies,  Hongkong  will 
ever  remain  in  history  at  least  as  a  glorious  monument  to 
British  enterprise  in  the  far  East. 

Hongkong  colony  is  an  example  of  an  open  port,  where 
one  leaves  and  comes  with  no  restrictions  upon  them.  No 
duties  to  enhance  the  price  of  commodities,  but  still  they  seem 
to  be  sold  higher  in  shops  in  Hongkong  than  in  Peking, 
probably  due  to  the  influence  of  American  prices  in  Manila. 
There  is  cheap  and  abundant  labor  everywhere,  but  the  majority 
of  manufactured  goods  is  dearer  there  than  in  any  part  of 
America. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  America  has  been  a  sort 
of  a  guardian  angel  to  Hongkong.  First,  by  starting  its  com- 
merce in  1849 ;  secondly,  by  starting  its  sanitation  in  1900,  the 
latter  requiring  a  word  of  explanation. 

As  soon  as  the  Americans  were  firmly  fixed  in  the  Philip- 
pines they  commenced  a  most  severe  sanitation  of  all  the 

118 


Hongkong,  the  Brightest  Jewel  119 

islands,  and  to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  cholera  and  other 
epidemics  exacted  a  visitation  at  Hongkong  of  all  ships  leaving 
that  city  for  Manila  or  other  Philippine  ports  before  their 
clearance  papers  were  issued.  The  British  in  Hongkong  at 
first  interpreted  this  action  of  the  Americans  with  varying 
half-hearted  degrees  of  resignation,  but  finally  followed  the 
example  set  in  the  usual  sensible  British  way  and  commenced 
a  thorough  and  scientific  sanitation  of  Hongkong  on  their 
own  account. 

I  remember  in  the  days  of  the  early  occupation  of  the  Philip- 
pines with  what  anger  a  fine  old  English  captain  on  a  ship 
sailing  for  Manila  exploded  after  our  American  Marine  Hospital 
inspector  had  left,  the  cause  of  his  anger  being  the  order  com- 
pelling him  to  throw  out  large  quantities  of  vegetables  on 
his  ship  as  a  possible  conveyance  of  cholera  spirili. 

"Can't  we  eat?"  he  yelled  at  the  steward  after  the  surgeon 
had  gone.  "How  long  is  this  American  nonsense  to  be  allowed 
to  bulldoze  us,  and  on  a  British  ship  too,  at  that?" 

I  greatly  enjoyed  the  old  skipper's  outburst,  and  we  became 
fast  friends  before  we  arrived  at  Manila.  He,  like  many  other 
of  the  fine  old  conservative  British  type,  jealous  of  his  traditions, 
was  among  the  first  to  extol  the  new  order  of  things  as  soon 
as  the  practical  benefit  was  proven  in  changing  the  old  disease- 
haunted  Spanish  Manila  into  one  of  the  most  healthful  cities 
of  the  world. 

The  British  authorities  in  Hongkong,  about  the  time  of 
this  incident,  commenced  their  sanitation  in  earnest,  and  today 
the  clean  and  wholesome  aspect  of  this  beautiful  colony  excites 
the  admiration  of  all  nations. 

After  a  sojourn  in  the  cold  northern  cities,  a  visit  to  Hong- 
kong in  the  winter  time  is  pleasant  indeed.  Upon  one's  arrival 
from  the  north,  one  of  the  first  rambles  is  towards  the  flower 
market,  where  just  for  enjoying  the  novelty  of  their  cheapness 
many  carry  away  an  armful  for  a  shilling.  The  next  on  the 


120    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

program  is  the  trip  to  the  peak  which,  from,  a  point  near  the 
wonderful  Botanical  Gardens,  can  be  reached  by  an  inclined 
tramway  which  pulls  up  past  terraced  residences  and  which, 
being  built  on  the  mountain-side,  appear  by  a  strange  optical 
illusion  as  the  tram  passes  swiftly  upward,  as  though  they 
were  constructed  on  angles  varying  from  the  level  about  them. 

Wonderful  indeed  are  these  rounded  peaks  as  viewed  from 
the  heights  about  Hongkong.  Their  grassy  sides  are  broken 
by  the  seared  grey  of  cliffs  and  barren  rock,  among  which  grow 
the  wild,  ever-blooming  flowers  and  about  which  is  heard  the 
song  of  birds.  Shoulder  upon  shoulder  the  heights  rise  above 
the  shadowed  valleys  between,  where  the  brighter  gleam  of 
shrubs  and  trees  breaks  the  solid  green  depth  as  isolated  and 
virgin  as  in  the  very  beginning. 

But  this  primeval  picture  of  Hongkong  as  seen  from  the 
heights  is  fast  changing.  Concrete  canals  are  being  constructed 
to  control  the  devastation  of  the  torrents  that  break  over  the 
heights.  Bulwarks  and  viaducts,  bridges,  winding  roads,  beau- 
tifully wide,  are  chopped  out  of  the  side  of  the  mountains 
whence  one  can  observe  the  ever-changing  vision  of  the  harbor 
below  with  the  terraced  woods  all  about.  In  the  hollow  crack 
of  the  stonebreaker's  tools  is  heard  the  story  of  the  continual 
encroachment  of  the  influence  of  the  city  of  Victoria  upon  the 
whole  rocky  extent  of  the  island  of  Hongkong. 

The  wonder  of  these  peaks,  imposing  as  they  are,  is  enhanced 
by  the  sea  which,  invisible  in  certain  parts  of  its  meanderings 
at  different  viewpoints,  though  frequently  overhung  with  a 
mantle  of  haze,  makes  a  dreamlike  and  wonderful  picture  as 
the  small  seacraft  outline  their  sail  in  a  myriad  of  shapes  upon 
the  sheen  of  the  sea,  throwing  their  gaunt  shadows  upon  its 
surface. 

The  snake-like  outlines  of  the  Cornice  roads,  leading  down 
from  one  height  to  another,  are  marked  here  and  there  by  the 
picturesque  figure  of  a  jaunty  red-coated  Tommy  Atkins  as 


Hongkong,  the  Brightest  Jewel  121 

well  as  the  white  caps  and  blue  uniforms  of  sailors,  making 
a  strange  contrast  with  the  clumsy  figures  of  broad-hatted 
Chinese  coolies  who,  barefooted  throughout  the  year  and  as 
children  of  nature,  wind  their  way  with  their  loads  slung 
from  bamboo  poles  upon  these  broad  roads  constructed  by 
their  industry  under  the  white  man's  direction. 

Ivy,  morning-glories,  poinsettias,  camillias,  hybiscus  and 
other  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers  grow  up  in  profusion  amid 
bamboo  grovelets. 

Below,  along  the  winding  streets  of  Victoria  itself,  the  deep 
balconied  houses  are  teeming  with  the  cosmopolitan  multitude. 
I  have  on  my  several  visits  to  Hongkong  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity to  stand  and  watch  the  varied  phases  of  life  in  that 
islet.  Soldier  and  sailor  uniforms  are  conspicuous  and  com- 
mon. Sometimes  one  will  notice  a  couple  of  European  or 
American  sailors  who  have  been  having  too  much  of  a  lark 
and  who  are  followed  by  a  large  crowd  of  Chinese  who  greatly 
enjoy  their  antics.  The  Chinese  have  great  contempt  for  the 
white  man's  public  debauchery,  and  a  drunken  sailor  or  soldier 
is  as  good  to  them  as  a  circus.  It  is  unfortunate  that  Hong- 
kong is  filled  with  indications  of  the  white  man's  degradation, 
whose  basest  appetites  are  purveyed  to  by  members  of  his  own 
race  as  well  as  the  Chinese.  I  remember  years  ago  while 
making  some  purchases  in  a  Hongkong  shop  a  fine  looking 
young  fellow,  who  seemed  to  have  come  from  the  farming 
region  of  the  middle  western  states,  came  rushing  in  and  cried 
out  to  me,  his  trembling  hands  and  haggard,  unkempt  appear- 
ance showing  the  signs  of  long  continued  debauchery. 

"Mister,  see,  I  have  no  collar  button !  Please  buy  me  one." 
He  was  almost  on  the  verge  of  a  delirium  tremen  attack,  but 
upon  buying  him  some  black  coffee  and  having  him  eat  a  little 
toast  he  became  rational  enough  to  confess  that  he  had  lost 
all  his  discharge  pay  as  a  soldier  in  gambling  and  had  pawned 
everything  he  had  for  drink,  even  up  to  his  most  necessary 


122    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

garments.  I  am  afraid  that  the  relief  and  caution  I  gave 
the  poor  fellow  did  him  no  good. 

Unfortunately,  during  the  Spanish- American  war,  a  few  of 
our  American  discharged  soldiers  on  their  larks  in  Shanghai 
and  Hongkong,  gave  the  natives  very  wrong  impressions  of 
what  our  race  is,  and  our  nationality  was  frequently  discredited 
by  a  great  many  "beach  combers,"  who  really  were  not  American. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  sights  of  Hongkong  is  the  view 
of  the  city  from  the  harbor  at  night  when  the  lines  of  light 
on  the  incline  of  the  peak,  together  with  those  from  the  masts 
and  sides  of  vessels,  add  to  and  become  as  it  were  a  part  of  the 
brilliant  constellation  of  the  heavens,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
tell  where  the  one  begins  and  the  other  ends.  Looking  upon 
their  meandering  points  of  light,  to  the  accompaniment  of  fall- 
ing water  as  it  drains  through  the  ship  and  ripples  against 
its  sides  with  now  and  then  the  swish  of  a  Sampan,  is  indeed  a 
delight.  The  lights  of  each  building  appear  like  gems  set  in 
jet  as  they  shine  in  groups  which  confuse  their  own  brilliancy 
by  their  equally  bright  reflection  in  the  water,  making  a 
glorious  maze  of  light  which  seems  a  part  of  the  whole  starry 
canopy  of  heaven. 

In  the  early  morning  when  reveille  is  sounded  from  one 
warship  to  another  amid  the  sounds  of  the  ship's  bells  until 
the  mournful  sound  of  taps  is  heard  in  the  evening,  the  bay 
presents  a  wonderful  scene  of  shipping  activity.  Great  battle- 
ships, cruisers,  tramp  steamers,  junks  with  scarred  hulks  and 
sails  with  a  hundred  patches,  merchant  craft  from  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  world,  all  are  here  in  this  strange  and 
wonderful  scene  of  the  East  eternally  joining  the  West.  With 
each  renewed  visit  it  becomes  more  wonderful. 

But  equally  marvelous  as  is  the  activity  of  the  bay  and  the 
natural  beauty  of  the  peak  is  the  display  of  commerce  as 
shown  in  line  after  line  of  great  godowns,  as  the  warehouses 
are  called,  crowded  with  products  of  the  Occident  and  the 


Hongkong,  the  Brightest  Jewel  123 

Orient,  which  are  ever  endingly  emptied  and  filled  by  great 
steamers  lying  at  anchor  but  a  stone's  throw  away. 

There  are  a  couple  of  miles  or  so  of  these  godowns,  their 
cavernous  doors  presenting  interesting  pictures  of  laborers  work- 
ing with  bales,  bags,  bundles  and  mysterious  jars  containing 
everything  from  opium  to  preserved  ginger. 

Hongkong  is  a  monument  to  the  Chinese  as  well  as  the 
English.  Take  the  Chinese  away  from  Victoria  and  there  is 
nothing  left  but  a  shell  of  authority.  These  godowns  would 
be  empty,  these  great  ships  would  cease  to  throw  their  anchors 
into  the  depth  of  the  harbor.  So  the  British  must  not  be  un- 
mindful of  the  fact  that  their  real  strength  in  the  Orient  can 
only  come  from  the  good  will  of  the  Chinese. 

Here  is  an  example  of  the  unfortunate  conditions  that 
develop  in  Hongkong  between  the  crown  authority  and  the 
Chinese:  Upon  taking  a  tram  on  my  arrival  in  Hongkong  I 
was  surprised  to  find  that  the  cars  were  almost  vacant,  although 
the  streets  were  crowded  with  rickshaws  and  pedestrians.  Some- 
time previous  the  street  car  company  had  decided  that  it  would 
be  to  its  advantage  to  exact  Hongkong  currency  in  payment  of 
fares,  theretofore  the  fares  having  been  paid  in  the  general 
Chinese  local  currency.  Since  payment  in  Hongkong  currency 
was  at  that  time  an  exception  to  the  general  trade  custom  in 
Hongkong,  the  Chinese,  considering  it  unjust,  refused  to  pat- 
ronize the  street  cars,  which  were  thereafter  run  for  some 
time  at  a  very  great  loss,  for  the  Chinese  paid  higher  fares 
to  ride  in  rickshaws  or  walked  rather  than  submit  to  the  seem- 
ing injustice  of  demonetizing  their  own  currency.  As  an  added 
complication  and  in  further  aggravation  of  the  tramway  bond 
and  stockholders,  Hongkong  currency  commenced  to  depreciate. 

The  issue  was  finally  joined  in  such  wise  that  the  Hongkong 
authorities  took  steps  to  pass  an  order  to  impose  a  tax  upon 
all  Chinese  property  holders  in  the  boycotted  district  in  order 
to  compensate  the  British  stock  and  bondholders  of  the  tram- 


124    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

way  company  for  the  deficit  caused  by  the  boycott — a  drastic 
proceeding  which  it  is  hard  for  one  in  the  casual  possession 
of  the  facts  in  a  general  way  to  justify. 

Of  course  this  authoritative  action  immediately  dissolved 
the  boycott,  but  it  can  be  imagined  in  what  spirit  the  Chinese 
accepted  the  inevitable. 

The  trouble  with  the  government  of  England's  colonies  is 
that  sometimes  there  is  too  much  government  and  too  little 
actual  acquaintance  with  the  people  governed.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  may  criticise  the  French,  but  I  doubt  if  you  could  find 
a  parallel  example  to  the  above  illustration  in  the  French 
colonies  of  the  Orient  or  elsewhere.  The  Chinese  cannot  be 
governed  as  are  the  Indians.  They  must  have  a  reason,  and 
the  reason  must  be  a  good  one.  Proud  as  an  Anglo-Saxon  of 
the  great  achievements  of  the  British  in  the  Orient,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  make  these  passing  remarks  in  the  hope  that, 
joined  to  the  words  of  many  others  in  this  behalf,  they  may 
not  be  in  vain. 

In  bright  contrast  with  the  heavy-handed  policy  of  the 
authorities  in  Hongkong  is  the  sensible  level-headed  interna- 
tional government  in  Shanghai.  While  Hongkong  was  suffer- 
ing from  a  tramway  boycott  the  Shanghai  trams  were  loaded 
down  with  Chinese  paying  their  fares  in  depreciated  currency, 
to  be  sure,  and  cutting  off  prospects  of  dividends  perhaps,  but 
abiding  by  the  business  proposition  that  it  is  better  to  take 
the  general  average  of  continued  profits  than  suffer  the  losses 
which  may  follow  from  an  effort  to  enforce  gains  and  profits. 

I  greatly  hope  that  Hongkong,  now  in  the  zenith  of  its 
prestige,  although  suffering  through  Europe's  war  as  a  dis- 
tributing center,  will  not  commence  to  decline  as  the  force 
of  China's  modernity  is  felt,  and  that  the  British  crown 
policy  will  ever  adapt  itself  to  new  conditions  sufficiently  to 
know  the  pulse  of  the  new  life  of  the  East,  in  order  that  this 
bright  gem  of  England's  colonial  crown  will  not  lose  its  lustre. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MANCHU  INFLUENCE  ON  CHINESE   CITIES 

Canton,  when  first  I  saw  it,  appeared  to  me  as  a  great 
squirming  nightmare  in  which  the  symbolism  of  human  filth, 
moist  and  matted  with  the  sweat  of  heavy  labor,  veiled  as  in 
a  peat  smoke  the  bent  figures  of  gifted  artists  and  dextrous 
artisans,  carving  the  wonders  of  their  arts  and  crafts  from 
precious  stones  and  costly  woods. 

The  foul  odors  of  repulsive  alleys  enveloped  the  sweet  smell 
of  sandalwood  and  the  pungent  odor  of  spices.  The  ghastly 
execution  ground  with  decapitated  heads  gnawed  by  dogs,  the 
charnel  houses  and  the  dreary  dilapidated  pagodas  were  in 
our  round  of  visit,  and  as  we  went  on,  the  pall  of  nakedness, 
suffering  and  hunger  seemed  to  hang  over  us  as  the  coolies 
labored  around  the  sharp  narrow  corners  of  noisome  streets, 
bearing  our  sedan  chairs,  to  which  we  clung  as  to  a  bark  of 
refuge,  launched  upon  a  stream  of  human  misery. 

Foochow  I  found  had  quite  as  many  rags,  but  less  of  the 
crowding  and  of  the  raw,  sick,  hungry  side  of  life.  And  there 
was  the  Bridge  of  Ten  Thousand  Ages  and  the  river  expanse 
with  its  fresh  air.  Besides,  I  was  becoming  somewhat  used  to 
Chinese  cities. 

Shanghai  shocked  me  by  the  contrast  of  its  old  city,  sick, 
decrepit,  diseased,  already  nearly  a  corpse,  but  shoulder  to 
shoulder  with  the  healthy,  modern  Occidental  Shanghai.  What 
a  contrast  of  Occidental  comfort  and  ease  of  the  well  fed,  with 
the  leprous  sick  and  starving  consumptives  begging  at  their 
very  elbows  and  still  a  thousand  miles  removed  from  any 
charity ! 

Amoy,  my  fourth  Chinese  city  in  point  of  acquaintance, 
made  no  new  impression.  My  observation  was  dulled  by  the 

125 


126    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

spiritless  monotony  of  it  all.  Of  Amoy  I  only  remember 
Kulang  Su.  Where  else  can  such  a  spot  be  found?  Kulang 
Su !  the  gem  spot  of  the  Chinese  coast,  the  rough  verdure  grown 
rocks;  the  meandering  line  of  its  dainty  island  shore  against 
which  rises  the  impetuous  tide  which  ebbs  and  flows  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  driving  away  with  the  sound  of  its  rushing  waters 
the  squalor  and  filth  of  the  city  on  the  opposite  shore.  All 
the  noisome  atmosphere  of  Amoy  is  forgotten  in  the  sweet 
and  fragrant  memory  of  Kulang  Su. 

And  then  after  just  these  four  cities  my  impressions  did 
not  seem  to  count  for  much,  except  in  Peking,  perhaps,  which 
doesn't  after  all  seem  much  like  a  Chinese  city. 

"Visit  one  and  you  have  visited  them  all,"  says  the  old 
English  commercial  traveler  who  has  followed  the  ways  through 
the  provinces  for  a  generation. 

"See  Peking  and  Canton  and  you  know  all  China,"  says 
another.  And  I  must  confess  there  is  much  truth  in  their 
assertions. 

Why  are  all  Chinese  cities  in  such  a  dreadful  filthy  condition  ? 
No  other  city  life  could  be  more  depressing.  No,  not  even 
India,  with  all  its  vermin,  sores,  sickness  and  rags.  Many 
times  have  I  turned  from  scenes  of  Chinese  city  life,  nauseated 
as  from  a  dunghill  of  maggots.  Where  else  must  one  suffer 
the  stenches  of  such  a  polluted  air?  Where  else  are  the  streets 
so  steeped  in  filth  or  rags  infested  with  vermin?  And  with 
all  that  can  make  life  hideous  in  the  crowding  of  the  masses 
together,  when  a  few  minutes'  walk  would  take  them  out  of 
these  dread  surroundings  to  the  fresh,  free  air  of  the  country 
beyond  the  walls. 

Many  reasons  can  be  given  for  the  conditions  as  above 
described,  and  among  the  first  the  fact  that  the  real  art  of 
making  a  sanitary  city  of  upwards  of  a  million  inhabitants 
is  an  art  that  has  only  but  recently  been  discovered. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  change  from  the  Ming  to  the  Manchu 


Flowery  pagoda,  Canton. 


Manchu  Influence  on  Chinese  Cities  127 

Dynasty,  even  the  larger  cities  of  Europe  in  some  of  their 
quarters  would  not  have  favorably  stood  a  very  close  comparison, 
but  that  was  at  the  end  of  the  Ming  Dynasty  when  they  crowded 
cities  all  over  the  world  and  did  but  very  little  municipal  sanita- 
tion, and  a  period  at  which  we  may  roughly  calculate  the 
commencement  of  the  feeble  efforts  to  improve  the  crowded 
condition  of  cities  in  the  Occident.  Then  came  the  Manchu 
Dynasty,  whose  only  real  imperial  policy  was  to  keep  things 
in  China  everywhere  exactly  as  they  were,  a  policy  that  con- 
tinued up  to  the  moment  that  Yehonala,  as  Empress  Dowager, 
with  little  Puy,  stepped  down  from  the  throne. 

The  Chinese  accepted  the  change  from  the  Mings  to  the 
Manchus,  believing  that  any  change  would  be  better  than  the 
continuance  of  internal  factional  strife.  They  accepted  the 
Manchus  as  a  mere  temporary  expedient,  and  in  this  connec- 
tion I  give  the  following  legend  as  I  had  it  from  a  high  ranking 
Chinese  official,  and  which  I  believe  has  never  before  been 
published : 

After  the  acceptance  by  the  Chinese  of  Manchu  authority, 
Secretary  Hung,  an  erudite  Chinese  of  great  political  strength, 
was  sought  by  the  victorious  Manchu  Emperor  to  obtain  his 
influence,  the  Emperor  offering  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the 
Secretary  in  order  to  obtain  the  benefit  of  his  large  personal 
following  and  knowledge  of  the  affairs  of  state. 

The  Secretary,  loyal  to  his  nation  and  bemoaning  the 
Chinese  defeat,  closed  his  eyes  for  fear  that  lest  seeing  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  the  Emperor  he  might  fall  in  love  with 
her  and  marry  her.  The  daughter  at  her  father's  behest,  how- 
ever, prepared  a  drink  of  ginseng  and  approaching  the  place 
selected  by  the  Secretary  for  his  voluntary  confinement,  found 
him  asleep.  In  the  guise  of  a  servant  she  waited  upon  the 
Secretary,  according  to  this  popular  Chinese  story,  until  finally 
throwing  aside  her  veil  she  disclosed  her  rare  and  wonderful 
beauty.  The  Secretary,  having  become  intoxicated  with  the 


128    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

drugged  ginseng  became  an  easy  victim  to  her  charms  and  he 
gave  her  his  promise  of  marriage. 

As  soon  as  he  had  realized  the  betrayal  of  his  country's 
interest  the  Secretary  became  very  despondent  and  bethought 
himself  of  some  way  to  do  his  country  a  great  good  and  of 
some  means  by  which  eventually  he  might  bring  about  the 
downfall  of  the  Manchus  without,  however,  shedding  blood, 
as  his  posterity  by  his  marriage  to  the  Manchu  Princess  might 
thereby  suffer. 

After  long  meditation  he  finally  went  to  the  Emperor,  say- 
ing: 

"I  have  one  request  to  make  before  I  enter  heart  and  soul 
into  your  service." 

The  Emperor  responded: 

"Make  whatever  request  thou  wilt  and  it  shall  be  granted 
thee." 

"The  request  I  would  make/'  responded  the  Secretary,  "is 
that  an  edict  be  issued  prohibiting  all  marriages  between 
Manchus  and  Chinese." 

"Granted,"  responded  the  Emperor,  and  the  edict  was  con- 
sequently promulgated. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  Manchus  were  scattered  out  into 
the  cities  and  villages  of  every  province  of  the  whole  Empire 
to  preserve  the  authority  of  the  Emperor.  But  being  mere 
soldiers  and  having  no  opportunity  to  enter  in  trade  by  mar- 
riage with  a  Chinese  wife,  they  soon  gave  themselves  up  to 
idleness,  accepting  whatever  pay  the  government  gave  them 
for  their  needs.  As  the  years  rolled  along  they  became  more 
indolent  and  worthless  and  took  no  interest  in  their  military 
drill  and  practice.  Being  obliged  to  marry  Manchu  wives, 
who  were  themselves  unfamiliar  with  their  surroundings,  they 
naturally  isolated  themselves  in  the  Manchu  environment  of 
their  families,  preserving  their  own  customs,  never  engaging 
in  trade  or  learning  any  art  or  craft.  Poorer  and  poorer 


Manchu  Influence  on  Chinese  Cities  129 

they  became  from  year  to  year.  Their  soldier's  pay  decreased 
to  a  mere  pittance  and  they  became  the  derision  and  the  objects 
of  contumely  of  the  Chinese. 

Thus  was  the  great  service  done  by  the  Secretary  to  his 
people,  according  to  this  quaint  and  somewhat  kindergarten  tale. 

But  it  indicates  in  a  popular  way  what  actually  did  take 
place  at  the  acceptance  of  the  Manchus  by  the  Chinese,  the 
latter  insisting  upon  and  obtaining  a  highly  penalized  law  pro- 
hibiting intermarriage  between  Manchus  and  Chinese. 

The  Manchus  won  China  by  the  spear  and  the  sword.  It 
was  the  greatest  triumph  one  people  has  ever  gained  over  an- 
other— the  conquest  of  the  world's  greatest  empire  in  numbers 
and  wealth.  For  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  years  they  ruled, 
and  yet  all  the  time  the  Chinese  remembered  the  evil  day  of 
their  subjugation,  when  the  streets  of  the  walled  cities  ran  red 
with  their  blood  in  a  Manchu  revel  of  rapine  and  murder  in 
which  not  even  defenseless  old  men,  helpless  women  and  crying 
babes  were  spared  the  thrust  of  the  spear  and  the  cut  of  the 
sword.  Yes,  they  remembered  and  Manchu  rule  was  whipped 
away  in  the  whirligig  of  time. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  MISSION  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES 

Christian  missionaries  have  played  a  more  important  role 
in  the  political  development  of  China  than  in  India,  Africa 
or  in  any  other  field  of  their  endeavor.  They  have  also  had  a 
more  difficult  task  there,  all  things  considered,  than  elsewhere. 
They  have  been  compelled  to  labor  with  the  stigma  of  the  opium 
trade  placed  upon  them  by  the  Chinese  as  well  as  being  gen- 
erally discredited  by  many  of  their  own  race.  The  Chinese  have 
frequently  looked  upon  them  as  being  the  political  agents  of 
the  European  governments,  and  they  have  commonly  been  called 
mischief  makers,  hypocrites  and  charged  with  all  the  short- 
comings of  the  whole  human  race  by  their  own  compatriots. 

But  under  all  this  abuse  and  criticism  their  work  has  been 
going  forward.  Much  of  the  light  of  real  progress  came  to 
China  through  the  open  doors  of  their  humble  meeting  houses. 

I  do  not  want  to  idealize  the  missionaries  of  any  creed  or 
country.  They  are  human  and  have  made  many  mistakes. 
The  educational  standard  of  their  ministry,  particularly  among 
the  Protestants,  has  never  been  too  high,  but  their  work  has 
been  on  the  whole  as  near  to  the  teaching  of  the  Great  Master 
as  any  religious  work  ever  done  by  man.  We  must  thank 
the  American  missionary  and  the  American  Y.  M.  C.  A.  for 
much  of  whatever  good  repute  we,  as  Americans,  enjoy  in 
China. 

The  Chinese  missionary  was  generally  a  religious  zealot. 
He  knew  that  the  field  was  difficult  and  as  far  away  as  time 
and  space  could  put  it.  Fear  of  sickness  and  danger  and 
the  dread  of  nostalgia  never  caused  him  to  falter  once  he  had 
undertaken  his  task.  The  rewards  of  his  ministry  were  barely 
enough  for  his  decent  subsistence.  The  wife  of  a  distinguished 

130 


The  Mission  of  the  Missionaries  151 

writer  on  Chinese  subjects  told  me  that  she  was  indeed  glad 
that  her  husband  would  have  some  return  from  the  sale  of  his 
books  because  they  would  have  something  thereby  to  give  to 
their  needy  native  poor.  This  man's  salary  was  one  thousand 
dollars  per  year,  and  that  after  forty  years  of  devoted  and 
splendid  service. 

The  small  salaries  which  they  receive  they  eke  out  into 
a  comfortable  living,  and  by  extreme  economy  are  able  to  enjoy 
much  of  all  that  China  has  to  offer,  living  perhaps  better 
than  many  of  the  merchant  adventurous  class  who,  by  reason 
of  their  habits  and  separation  from  their  family,  rarely  possess 
the  healthful  home  environment  of  the  missionary.  This  last 
named  soldier  of  fortune  class,  gathering  about  the  bars  and 
tables  of  their  clubs  and  in  the  hotel  buffets  of  the  coast  towns, 
frequently  and  graphically  told  passing  strangers  of  the  mis- 
sionaries living  on  the  fat  of  the  land.  I  remember 
one  fellow  who  had  just  returned  from  an  up-country  trip 
who  declared  that  he  had  seen  a  missionary  actually  enjoying 
the  rare  sport  of  shooting  pheasants  from  his  bedroom  window. 
This  fellow  was  so  befuddled  in  his  drinks,  however,  that  he 
could  not  locate  the  exact  village  of  such  a  famous  sporting 
district,  his  only  response  to  all  inquiries  being  that  those 
"hypocritical  missionaries  get  the  best  of  everything  and  even 
shoot  pheasants  from  their  residence  windows." 

To  a  man  such  as  this  the  sight  of  a  fatigued  and  over- 
worked missionary,  riding  home  in  a  private  sedan  chair,  would 
be  galling.  His  mind  would  not  allow  him  to  admit  the 
existence  of  a  true  missionary  who  wasn't  on  foot. 

But  the  missionaries  have  to  live  too  much  to  themselves. 
With  little  intercourse  with  practical  outside  life,  they  turn  to 
their  testaments  alone  for  instruction,  doing  themselves  exactly 
what  they  preach  the  Chinese  should  not  do — looking  backward 
rather  than  forward  for  their  models.  They  lead  the  life  of 
two  thousand  years  ago  when  they  should  be  living  the  life 


132    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

of  today.  Their  public  services  are  poorly  attended  and  fre- 
quently by  natives  who  have  some  axe  to  grind.  Some  tricky 
Chinese,  who  find  themselves  involved  in  the  meshes  of  the  law, 
join  the  church  in  order  to  get  the  benefit  of  missionary  sup- 
port. But  with  all  the  ulterior  aims  which  prompt  adherents 
to  the  missions  by  the  Chinese  the  attendance  still  remains 
pitiably  small.  The  great  mistake  thus  made  by  our  missions 
is  in  devoting  too  much  time  to  the  ritual — too  much  time 
in  mere  words  of  prayer  rather  than  in  practical  efforts  of 
evangelization.  I  would  like  to  see  what  I  consider  the  greatest 
opportunity  of  evangelization  tried  out  and  which  I  might  call 
trade  evangelization.  Trade  evangelization  among  the  Chinese 
would  do  in  a  craft  fashion  what  the  medical  missionaries 
have  so  wonderfully  accomplished  in  a  professional  way.  Think 
of  a  missionary  blacksmith  who,  striking  foreign  iron  as  he 
worked  at  his  foreign  forge,  could  show  his  superiority  as  a 
craftsman  and  make  himself  an  element  of  practical  use  among 
them.  Such  a  man,  soiled  with  his  labor,  could  in  a  moment 
turn  his  blacksmith's  shop  into  a  prayer  meeting  and  always 
find  a  large  and  respectful  audience.  Likewise,  a  carpenter 
missionary  and  representatives  of  all  the  other  trades  should 
have  their  opportunity  to  go  forth  into  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  of  love  to  the  accompaniment  of  their  resounding 
instruments  of  toil.  And  as  the  different  craft  missionaries 
combine  with  their  followings,  they  could  establish  their  own 
model  village  in  their  own  Christian  environment,  to  the 
great  elevation  and  the  real  interpretation  of  the  lowly 
Nazarene.  Industrial  schools,  model  farms  and  trade  schools, 
on  a  sound  and  substantial  basis,  would  be  the  result  of  such 
missionary  action.  "But,"  say  some  timid  ones,  "the  Chinese 
would  not  allow  us  to  do  that.  They  are  jealous  of  their 
callings;  riots  would  ensue  and  our  lives  might  be  in  danger." 
Nonsense !  The  Chinese  is  too  anxious  to  be  instructed  in 
the  betterment  of  his  craft  to  oppose  anyone  who  is  willing  to 


The  Mission  of  the  Missionaries  133 

teach  him.  Missionary  work  is  always  presumed  to  be  without 
profit.  This  wonderful  work — this  great  instruction  and  educa- 
tion— would  be  carried  on  with  no  idea  of  gain  any  more  than 
the  churches  of  the  missions  are  themselves  established  for 
gain.  Far  from  being  jealous  and  offended,  the  different 
Chinese  trades  and  crafts  would,  if  the  proposition  were  prop- 
erly explained  to  them,  gladly  support  such  an  undertaking. 
The  Chinese  themselves  sometimes  complain  of  the  missionary 
because  they  say  they  all  belong  to  the  Mandarinate  tribe,  and 
that  they  are  teachers  of  words  rather  than  deeds.  It  is  indeed 
surprising  to  think  that  with  all  the  millions  of  Anglo-Saxon 
money  poured  out  into  missionary  channels,  there  is  hardly 
a  single  example  that  I  know,  of  a  substantial  Christian 
industrial  school  or  model  farm. 

Yes.  This  is  the  real  mission  of  the  missionary.  Not 
that  I  wish  in  any  way  to  derogate  the  effective  work  they 
have  actually  done,  nor  discourage  them  in  further  efforts  for 
the  evangelization  of  China,  but  the  Chinese  are  too  hard- 
headed  and  practical  a  people  to  be  swayed  by  the  mere  emotion 
of  apostolic  teaching.  They  must  ever  have  the  hard  kernel  of 
reason.  They  want  to  know  why  Christianity  is  any  better  than 
the  three  great  religions  of  their  own  country. 

And  to  prove  my  assertion  I  have  only  to  point  with  pride 
as  an  Anglo-Saxon  to  the  greatest  work  that  has  ever  been 
done  in  China  by  the  missionaries — that  of  the  medical  mis- 
sions, which  have  always  worked  from  the  very  beginning  right 
along  these  practical  lines.  The  following  shows  the  method 
of  their  evangelization: 

Some  old,  dilapidated,  vermin  infested  building,  by  dint 
of  scrubbing  and  fumigating,  is  finally  turned  into  some  sem- 
blance of  a  place  fit  to  treat  the  sick,  to  dress  the  wounds  and 
give  them  the  benefit  of  scientific,  modern  surgery  and  medicine. 
The  practical  Chinese,  when  they  found  that  there  was  a  bar- 
gain chance  in  the  foreign  devil's  healing  power,  came  for 


134    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

cures.  He  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  missionaries.  He 
found  them  good  and  kind  people.  The  good  name  of  the 
healing  place  traveled  far.  Soon  this  pathetic  pretext  for  a 
hospital  which,  with  the  poverty  of  its  allowance  had  nothing 
but  its  cleanliness  to  recommend  it,  its  staff  living  on  an  in- 
sufficient income,  while  fortunes  were  annually  wasted  in  idle 
print,  became  the  landmark,  the  chief  point  of  local  interest, 
of  more  curiosity  than  the  execution  ground  itself.  For  it 
was  there  that  the  foreigners  actually  snuffed  out  a  man's  life 
to  cut  out  a  diseased  part  from  his  body  and  then,  marvelous! 
restored  him  to  life  and  sent  him  back  well  and  whole  among 
his  fellows.  The  Chinese  know  as  little  of  anatomy  today  as 
we  ourselves  did  a  couple  of  centuries  ago,  belonging  still  really 
to  the  ancient  races  and  the  only  surviving  contemporary  of 
Assyria,  Babylon  and  Egypt.  Can  we  not  imagine  with  what 
interest  and  alertness  they  awaken  to  the  noonday  light  of 
modern  science? 

In  this  connection  attention  might  again  be  called  to  the 
Chinese  as  well  as  the  Egyptian  belief  that  one  of  the  first 
principles  of  obtaining  happiness  in  this  life  is  to  so  care  for  the 
body  that  at  death  it  would,  by  good  conduct  and  habits, 
still  have  been  as  little  used  by  the  spirit  that  inhabited  it  as 
possible.  Confucius  beautifully  advocates  this  principle.  Ac- 
cordingly the  Chinese,  in  that  hope  which  always  follows  and 
encourages  the  sick,  have  never  advanced  in  the  practice  of 
surgery. 

A  few  cures  on  the  part  of  the  medical  missionary  im- 
mediately gave  them  such  standing  that  thereafter  their  in- 
firmaries and  hospitals  had  all  that  they  could  do.  The  method 
of  connecting  the  medical  with  the  church  work  naturally 
followed,  according  to  whatever  means  the  circumstances  of 
the  case  presented.  Frequently  bright  colored  cards,  pleasing 
to  women  and  children,  with  a  prettily  charactered  text  from 
the  Bible  with  the  remark  that  as  soon  as  the  text  had  been 


The  Mission  of  the  Missionaries  135 

committed  to  memory  the  card  would  be  theirs,  would  be  given 
out.  Since  the  Chinese  women  and  children  have  very  few 
pretty  things,  the  desire  to  own  the  card  would  incite  the 
woman  or  child  to  the  labor  of  learning  the  text,  and  thus 
was  planted  the  first  seed  of  Christian  instruction. 

Since  the  medical  missionaries  came  into  contact  with  the 
very  poorest  class  of  Chinese,  their  labors  are  particularly  hard 
on  account  of  superstition.  A  lady  missionary  doctor  in 
Szechuan  Province  told  me  that  frequently  they  have  trouble 
in  getting  the  very  lowest,  poorest  type  to  take  the  preliminary 
bath  as  a  prerequisite  towards  entering  the  hospital. 

One  day  a  girl  afflicted  with  tuberculosis  of  the  arm  applied 
with  her  mother  for  treatment,  and  finally  consented  to  an  arm 
amputation,  something  the  Chinese  generally  submit  to  only 
with  very  great  reluctance.  After  leaving  they  returned  shortly 
to  inquire  if  it  were  needful  to  submit  to  a  bath  as  well  as 
the  operation,  and  upon  being  answered  in  the  affirmative 
they  stated  that  they  would  not  take  the  treatment,  for  the 
operation  itself,  said  they,  ought  to  be  enough  to  cure.  I 
myself  believe,  however,  that  the  girl  and  her  mother,  after 
again  considering  the  question  of  the  operation,  merely  used 
the  bath  excuse  in  order  to  save  their  face  in  backing  out  of 
their  agreement  to  submit  to  the  dreaded  operation. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  most  Chinese  missionaries  have  only 
an  opportunity  to  know  a  very  small  part  of  China  itself. 
Generally  they  know  nothing  whatsoever  of  any  other  country 
except  their  own  small  environment  in  China.  I  have  talked 
for  hours  with  missionaries  who  have  been  for  a  score  of  years 
in  China  and  who  could  give  but  little  information  upon  any 
general  Chinese  subject,  and  then  again  the  very  best  and 
most  reliable  information  that  I  or  anyone  else  has  ever  gleaned 
second  hand  in  China  has  come  from  missionary  sources.  This 
difference  is,  of  course,  temperamental  as  well  as  due  to  the 
environment  within  which  the  respective  missionaries  pass  their 
lives. 


136    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Yes,  the  missionaries  in  China  have  done  much  towards 
accomplishing  their  mission.  They  themselves  represent  the 
only  representatives  of  the  white  race  who  have  gone  to  China 
with  the  avowed  intention  of  doing  the  Chinese  good.  They 
understood  the  Chinese  alone  and  as  no  other  of  their  race 
understood  them.  They  discovered  the  inevitable  truth  early 
in  their  ministry  that  the  Chinese  are  not  an  inferior  race. 
They  have  never  assumed  the  silly  position  of  belonging  to 
a  superior  race.  They  have  treated  the  Chinese  in  most  in- 
stances with  dignity  and  kindness  without  sycophancy  or  adula- 
tion. Compare  the  sensible  conduct  of  the  missionary  with  that 
of  the  ordinary  Anglo-Saxon  permanent  resident  in  secular  call- 
ing and  you  will  find  that  the  missionary  will  not  suffer  by 
the  comparison.  As  an  illustration  of  this  I  might  tell  what 
I  heard  in  the  Shanghai  United  States'  postoffice  recently. 
The  wife  of  one  of  the  leading  Anglo-Saxon  traders 
who  had  been  in  China  for  nearly  a  generation,  came  into  the 
postoffice  and  never  seemed  to  be  able  to  sufficiently  designate, 
by  the  appellation  of  "boy,"  the  very  intelligent,  high  grade 
Chinese  clerk  who  had  charge  of  the  sale  of  stamps. 

"Boy,  how  much  does  this  weigh?  Boy,  how  many  coppers 
for  a  stamp?  Boy,  put  this  in  the  box.  Is  it  registered,  boy?" 

All  this  of  course  did  not  sound  at  all  silly  to  her,  for  with 
a  grand  I-have-been-here-twenty-years  sort  of  a  look  she  swept 
out  of  the  office  with  a  final  volley  of  "boy." 

The  missionaries'  personal  respect  for  the  Chinese  has 
contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  their  labor. 

A  word  should  here  be  said  of  another  class  of  missionaries 
who,  collaborating  with  the  missionaries  of  all  other  denomina- 
tions, serve  to  bring  about  marvelous  results  along  the  practical 
lines  I  have  before  suggested.  Their  work  is  indeed  bringing 
in  from  the  vineyard  the  full  two  hundredfold.  Yes,  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  now  show- 
ing its  way  from  all  parts  of  China  up  to  the  very  gates  of 


The  Mission  of  the  Missionaries  137 

its  institutions.  No  exaction  of  creed  or  belief  is  made,  and  the 
Chinese  come  to  them  by  thousands. 

The  organization  is  particularly  careful  in  sending  only 
clean-cut,  straightahead  men  with  a  common  sense,  normal 
standard  which  quickly  popularizes  them  with  the  Chinese  who 
are  allowed  as  soon  as  competent  to  take  over  the  work  for 
themselves,  the  boards  of  all  the  fully  organized  groups  being 
made  up  entirely  of  Chinese. 

"What  are  you  going  to  make  of  your  boys?"  I  recently 
asked  a  Chinese. 

"I  am  going  to  give  them  a  European  education,"  he  proudly 
responded.  "I  want  them  to  learn  English  and  all  the  mathe- 
matics with  stenography  and  bookkeeping  so  that  they  may 
work  up  as  modern  business  men." 

The  remark  rather  puzzled  me  for  I  knew  that  his  means 
were  precariously  small  for  such  a  program. 

He  read  my  thought  and  then  continued : 

"Yes,  even  I,  a  poor  man,  can  afford  to  educate  my  sons 
because  now  we  have  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  They  teach  them  every- 
thing, even  to  X-Ray  pictures  of  soldiers'  wounds." 

In  a  Peking  shop  I  was  surprised  at  the  excellent  English 
used  by  a  rather  old  Chinese,  and  upon  complimenting  him  he 
responded : 

"Yes,  I  have  learned  a  little.  But  it  was  hard  then — hard 
in  the  old  days  when  we  did  not  have  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Then, 
to  learn  English,  we  had  to  go  to  the  missions  where  all  we 
learned  was  religion  and  language,  although  all  was  free  and 
kindly  taught  by  the  few  teachers.  But  now  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
teaches  a  language  or  trade  as  easy  as  showing  moving  pictures." 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  not  being  considered  in  any  way  a  missionary 
enterprise.  There  is  a  quid  pro  quo  exaction  in  their  work. 
The  Chinese  generally  look  with  suspicion  upon  anything  offered 
free.  It  is  related  that  an  American  salesman,  trying  to  in- 


138    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

troduce  some  novelty  in  China,  went  into  a  shop  where  he 
tried  to  ingratiate  himself  by  giving  out  complimentary  cigars, 
and  he  was  chagrined  as  he  left  the  shop  to  hear  one  of  the 
group  say: 

"Better  not  smoke  it.  There  is  something  wrong  with  such 
cigars  or  he  wouldn't  have  given  them  to  us." 

"Pay  for  what  you  get"  is  the  Chinese  way  of  looking  at 
things,  and  that  is  the  way  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion with  its  business  way  becomes  so  attractive  to  them.  The 
following  incident  will  illustrate: 

An  American  came  to  me  saying  that  he  had  subscribed 
a  certain  sum  to  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  fund,  but  that 
reverses  prevented  him  from  adhering  to  his  original  subscrip- 
tion. The  attorney,  who  was  also  a  director  of  that  particular 
local  organization,  had  written  him  a  letter  demanding  pay- 
ment and  threatening  to  sue  if  it  was  not  paid.  To  a  re- 
quest for  leniency  the  response  came: 

"We  can't  let  him  off  on  that  excuse.  He  subscribed  and 
will  have  to  pay." 

Subsequently,  however,  when  I  had  fully  explained  the 
situation  the  delinquent  subscriber  was  released  from  immediate 
payment.  I  could  not  but  admire  the  strong  business  attitude 
which  characterizes  the  incident — an  attitude  which  is  eminently 
successful  in  China. 

The  popular  lecture  work  in  China  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
particularly  those  illustrated  is  accomplishing  great  results 
as  well  as  their  athletic  departments,  which  are  preaching  a 
gospel  of  health  and  strength  which  will  eventually  restore 
the  natural  lustiness  of  Chinese  physique  so  long  neglected  in 
the  crowded,  noisome  city,  walling  out  the  air  and  gathering 
in  the  shadows  and  gloom. 


CHAPTEE  XV 

THE  ASSEMBLING  OF  A  NATION 

No  political  movement  of  the  world's  history  seems  to  me 
to  be  more  wonderful  than  the  peaceful  gathering  together  of 
all  the  scattered  parts  of  the  Chinese  realm  heretofore  isolated 
and  divided  by  the  conditions  of  their  despotic  control,  but  now 
in  common  representation  under  a  central  impulse  being  gal- 
vanized in  the  whole  enormous  body  politic  to  a  sudden  and 
certain  activity  for  the  good  of  all. 

"The  Manchus  did  not  oppress  the  people,"  said  one  of  the 
Chinese  national  delegates  to  me.  "The  Manchus  were  simply 
rotten.  We  are  anxious  to  cleanse  the  furthermost  corners  of 
our  Eepublic.  Of  course  it  will  take  time,  but  eventually  we 
will  do  it.  We  have  ways  of  killing  graft  unknown  to  the 
Occident.  China  is  a  great  country  and  time  alone  will  bring 
out  our  great  natural  leaders.  And  as  good  leadership  goes 
up,  so  graft  and  squeeze  will  go  down.  China  is  a  hard  country 
to  put  in  motion,  it  is  so  enormous.  But  when  it  is  once  started 
it  will  go  on  to  the  end  of  time." 

Everywhere  this  demand  for  honest  and  competent  leaders 
is  manifest.  I  listened  to  a  clean-cut  young  Chinese  making 
a  vehement  appeal  to  an  attentive  audience  of  Cantonese. 

"With  good  leaders  our  Republic  will  succeed.  But  not 
only  must  our  leaders  be  honest,  we,  as  citizens,  must  likewise 
be  honest." 

It  is  with  such  common  natural  sense  as  this  that  the 
Chinese  start  out  on  their  new  reform. 

And  the  wonder  of  it  all  is  that  the  Chinese  do  not  take 
their  change  of  government  in  any  exuberance  of  excitement. 
To  them  it  seems  as  natural  as  water  flowing  out  of  a  foun- 
tain, for  they  have  always  been  democratic  individually  and 
express  no  wonder  that  they  should  be  so  collectively. 

139 


140    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

I  asked  a  rickshaw  coolie  in  the  Shanghai  French  Concession 
about  what  he  thought  of  the  fall  of  the  Dynasty.  I  thought 
that  such  a  mere  casual  change  from  Dynasty  to  Republic 
might  have  little  interest  for  this  poor  chap  whose  ambition 
was  centered  in  the  single  great  and  absorbing  question  of 
getting  enough  to  eat,  and  who  would  probably  have  denned 
heaven  as  a  place  where  he  could  get  all  the  food  he  wanted. 
Anyhow,  I  wanted  to  find  out  if  he  knew  anything  about  it, 
and  mentally  reduced  my  pidgeon  English  and  broken  Mandarin 
Chinese  to  such  forms  as  he  could  grasp.  Then,  finally  point- 
ing at  his  head,  I  said: 

"Why  have  you  cut  your  queue?" 
His  face  broadened  into  a  grin  as  he  responded : 
"No  more  dlagon!     Now  got  five  color  banner." 
"Is   the  five   colored  banner  better  than  the  dragon?"   I 
asked. 

"Yes,"  he  said  between  his  grins.  "Lebels  make  better. 
Manchu  bad.  Me  belong  five  color  banner!  Me  glad  lebel." 
The  chap  evidently  had  a  very  keen  idea  of  patriotism  for, 
going  through  the  Chinese  city,  whenever  we  passed  one  of 
their  newly  equipped  policemen  he  would  look  at  me  and 
then  at  the  policemen  as  it  were  to  prove  the  great  progress 
made  for  the  people  by  the  five  colored  banner. 

Those  who  claim  that  the  Chinese  coolies  are  not  intelligent 
enough  to  know  or  to  care  about  government  should  watch  with 
what  understanding  they  inform  themselves  concerning  the 
movements  of  the  late  revolutionary  conflict.  I  believe  the 
Chinese  coolie,  all  things  considered,  does  about  as  much  aver- 
age original  thinking  on  his  own  account  and  relies  as  much 
for  his  daily  bread  upon  the  action  of  his  own  brain  as  any 
similar  class  of  laborers  in  the  world.  He  is  unwashed  but  not 
unthinking. 

Looking  over  the  rail  of  a  Yangtse  steamer  towards  Chin- 
kiang,  a  thirty-year  resident  of  China  said  to  me : 


The  Assembling  of  a  Nation  141 

"How  do  you  suppose  a  Eepublic  can  be  made  with  soldiers 
who,  without  surgeons,  are  required  to  heal  their  own  wounds? 
How  can  a  Republic  ever  be  made  out  of  that?"  and  he 
pointed  to  a  stream  of  soiled,  ragged,  barelegged  coolies  pound- 
ing along  under  their  heavy  loads  calling  the  step  to  each 
other  as  they  strained  forward. 

"The  best  stuff  in  the  world,"  I  responded.  "China  at  the 
bottom  has  always  been  democratic;  only  the  buttons  of  the 
Mandarinate  have  been  despotic  and  Chinese  democracy  too,"  I 
added,  "does  not  have  feet  of  clay  nor  body  of  straw.  Eepublics 
are  born  from  labor  and  industry,  no  matter  how  low  the  sur- 
roundings, and  the  Chinese  are  not  only  nationalists  but  patriots. 
As  long  as  there  is  any  patriotic  impulse  and  an  ability  to 
handle  the  gun,  honesty  on  the  part  of  the  governing  authority 
can  make  a  Republic  out  of  them,  which  the  whole  world  is 
bound  to  respect.  And  then,"  I  added,  "did  you  know  that 
China  abolished  the  Feudal  System  in  the  third  century  before 
Christ?" 

Yes,  the  Chinese  are  indeed  capable  of  forming  a  Republic. 
I  sometimes  think  as  I  watch  their  independent  ways  in  the 
midst  of  the  teeming  multitudes — presenting  all  conditions  and 
classes,  trades  and  callings,  without  any  jar  or  friction  between 
them,  because  everyone  respects  the  rights  of  the  other — that 
they  are,  after  all,  a  Republic  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name  and 
have  been  such  for  centuries,  Imperial  domination  being  merely 
nominal. 

But  the  mere  form  of  Chinese  government  does  not  per- 
haps matter  so  much  after  all,  for  the  race  and  its  traditions 
will  be  there  regardless  of  how  you  denominate  the  form  of 
government.  China  is  bound  to  advance  under  any  govern- 
ment which  is  honest.  Even  though  China  were  parceled 
out  among  the  sextuple  group  of  Europe  and  made  a  part 
of  their  territorial  aggrandizement,  the  Chinese  would  still 
go  forward  as  an  integral  nation,  regardless  of  foreign  political 


142    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

control,  for  they  are  a  pure  race  and  will  maintain  their  racial 
integrity  despite  any  condition  of  government  that  is  not  dis- 
honest and  oppressive. 

"Well,"  someone  may  say,  "that  is  all  very  well,  but  every 
Chinese  wants  to  have  his  own  way  and  he  wants  a  Republic 
because  he  thinks  that  under  that  form  of  government  he  will 
have  more  of  his  own  way  than  under  any  other." 

I  would  respond  to  this  query,  "Hasn't  he  had  it  for  several 
thousand  years?  That  shows  that  he  is  of  superior  stuff  for 
a  Republic.  He  has  never  been  a  serf.  With  him  there  has 
been  no  hereditary  nobility,  only  the  Emperor,  who  was  respon- 
sible to  heaven  for  the  welfare  of  every  Chinese.  What  greater 
traditional  independence  than  this  can  elsewhere  be  found?" 

There  are  some  who  say  that  a  Republic  is  a  most  com- 
plicated form  of  government  and  that  the  Chinese  were  unwise 
in  selecting  it. 

This  I  do  not  believe.  Of  course  the  petty  Republics  of 
Central  and  South  America  are  complicated  affairs  in  that 
they  merely  reflect  the  intrigues  of  partisanship  with  continual 
bloodshed.  But  a  Republic,  such  as  we  know  it  in  America,  is 
not  really  complicated  but  only  seems  so  because  of  the  large 
interests  taken  in  public  affairs  by  its  citizens.  I  believe  that 
no  other  form  of  government  could  have  been  more  favorable 
to  the  early  development  of  China. 

There  are  some  old  European  residents  who  say: 

"The  Chinese  will  never  be  satisfied  under  a  Republic. 
For  centuries  they  have  looked  upon  the  Emperor  as  the  Son 
of  Heaven.  They  must  have  their  Son  of  Heaven." 

I  dismiss  such  an  assertion,  carrying  with  it  as  it  does  the 
foolish  supposition  that  the  Chinese  are  incapable  of  reasoning. 

China  has  a  great  deal  to  contend  against  in  bringing  about 
her  reforms.  Owing  to  the  independence  of  the  Chinese,  en- 
forcement of  the  law  was  always  a  hard  matter  unless  its 
reason  was  apparent.  Then  again  the  Mandarinate,  in  their 


One  of  Soochow's   bridges. 
A  Soochoic  pagoda. 


Three  storied  roof  anchoring  whole 

structure, 
to    a    Nabob's    compound. 


The  Assembling  of  a  Nation  143 

bureaucracy  control  since  time  immemorial,  will  require  a 
lot  of  discipline  and  perhaps  entire  dismissal  from  office 
before  reforms  are  accomplished.  The  grip  of  the  Mandarinate 
upon  the  masses  has  been  unrelenting.  Take  this  for  example : 

Pretty  much  all  over  China  the  Mandarins  would  put  an 
embargo  against  the  importation  of  rice  as  soon  as  the  crop 
was  harvested  so  that  the  farmer  who  needed  his  money  was 
compelled  to  sell  to  the  merchants  at  a  very  low  local  price. 
As  soon  as  the  merchants  were  in  possession  of  all  the  rice  the 
embargo  would  be  raised  and  the  merchants  would  then  export 
or  sell  the  rice  locally  at  a  very  large  profit. 

But  even  with  all  this  the  Chinese  officials  knew  that  they 
might  be  amenable  at  any  time  to  the  classes  they  represented. 
Instances  are  very  common  where  the  merchants  of  a  whole 
city  have  closed  their  shops,  together  with  a  cessation  of  labor 
on  the  part  of  all  the  trades  and  crafts,  as  a  protest  against 
the  enforcement  of  an  unpopular  measure. 

A  few  years  ago  in  the  town  of  Yengtak  near  Seontefou 
the  shopkeepers  in  the  whole  town  quietly  closed  their  shops 
to  express  their  protest  against  the  enforcement  of  a  certain 
decree,  and  the  shops  so  continued  closed  to  the  great  hardship 
of  all;  but  since  it  was  largely  an  agricultural  community 
the  action  of  the  shopkeepers  was  withstood  for  a  long  time 
until  the  dead  commenced  to  accumulate.  Then  the  need  of 
coffins  was  most  direfully  felt,  for  all  Chinese  consider  their 
dead  entitled  to  a  decent  burial.  Hence  the  authorities  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in  order  to 
open  the  undertaking  establishments  and  the  other  shops  gen- 
erally were  thus  likewise  opened. 

The  Chinese  themselves  do  not  underestimate  the  great 
labor  attendant  upon  their  reforms.  They  are  entitled  to  look 
to  the  other  civilized  nations  of  the  earth  for  assistance  in 
bringing  about  the  new  conditions  of  things  on  a  program  as 
grand  as  has  ever  been  conceived  by  the  mind  of  man. 


10 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    CHINESE   ABROAD 

,  I  do  not  mean  by  the  Chinese  abroad  the  immigrants  of 
whom  I  have  spoken  in  a  previous  chapter,  but  rather  those 
who  sojourn  passingly  in  foreign  countries  with  the  other  human 
flotsam  and  jetson  of  the  world's  great  cities. 

I  do  not  think  that  wanderlust  is  developed  as  an  emotion 
among  the  Chinese  as  with  us.  The  Chinese  have  not  as  yet 
learned  the  joys  of  traveling  for  pleasure.  No  matter  what 
the  wealth  of  a  Chinese  may  be,  he  prefers  to  enjoy  every 
penny  of  it  in  his  home  town.  But  if  there  is  any  wanderlust 
among  them  it  would  be  looked  for  among  the  women.  Chinese 
women  are  not  as  fearful  as  our  own;  the  lower  classes  do  not 
fear  to  go  anywhere  alone.  I  once  with  great  astonishment  saw 
a  young  Chinese  woman  stumping  along  through  the  crowds 
which  were  waiting  for  the  departure  of  the  train  from  Patras 
to  Olympia,  Greece,  her  head  thrown  back,  her  smiling  mouth 
showing  two  lines  of  white  teeth,  a  queenly  looking  creature 
in  spite  of  the  tatters  of  her  faded  blue  gown  and  trousers. 
With  her  two  babies  she  was  following  her  way  around  the 
world,  maintaining  herself  and  little  ones  by  the  sale  of  fans 
which  she  manufactured  herself.  This  is  the  only  Chinese 
nomad  woman  I  have  ever  seen  between  the  Adriatic  and 
Singapore.  Of  course  there  are  practically  no  Chinese  in  most 
parts  of  India,  for  the  Chinese  is  really  better  off  in  his  own 
country  than  in  that  sad  land  of  beggary  and  lack. 

Outside  of  the  students,  who  are  likewise  not  numerous, 
there  are  not  many  real  Chinese  in  Paris,  although  the  Anna- 
mites  and  other  Indo-Chinese  are  sometimes  seen.  A  very 
popular  restaurant  in  the  Latin  quarter  on  the  Boulevard 

144 


The  Chinese  Abroad  145 

Montparnasse  sometimes  brings  about  reunions  of  the  more 
prominent  Chinese,  hungry  for  some  of  their  own  "home  cook- 
ing" which,  by  the  way,  is  not  always  appreciated  by  the 
students  of  the  quarter,  one  of  whom,  an  American  artist, 
came  to  me  saying: 

"I  have  just  tried  that  Restaurant  Chinois  on  the  Boulevard 
Montparnasse.  They  gave  us  nids  d'hirondelle  pour  potage 
champignone  de  mer  de  Chine  and  champignons  rouge,  and 
then  when  I  was  about  to  ask  them  when  they  were  going  to 
bring  on  the  real  food  they  presented  me  with  a  bill  for  twenty 
francs  which  I  paid  and  went  out  to  the  nearest  bouillon  eat- 
ing house  to  get  some  real  nourishment." 

I  explained  to  him  that  he  had  ordered  the  most  expensive 
items  on  the  bill  of  fare,  and  he  was  rather  more  indulgent  in 
overlooking  what  he  considered  an  extortion  when  I  told  him 
of  the  cliffs  of  Penon  in  the  Philippines  where  some  of  this 
bird's  nest  gelatin  is  gathered  and  at  what  great  risks. 

There  is  quite  a  little  settlement  of  Chinese  in  London 
down  in  the  neighborhood  made  famous  by  Jack  the  Kipper's 
terrible  crimes  of  years  ago,  but  as  I  strolled  through  the 
quiet  streets  I  felt  that  certainly  nothing  could  be  more  clean 
and  orderly  than  that  little  quarter  with  its  Chinese  shops 
and  dark  hallways  into  which  flitted  in  and  out  the  mysterious 
figures  of  Chinese.  Most  of  these  sons  of  Cathay  are  stokers 
or  seamen  who  come  up  from  Liverpool  or  the  London  docks 
to  enjoy  this  little  glimpse  of  their  home  life  before  continuing 
again  on  some  far-off  journey. 

This  Limehouse  Causeway-Pennyfield-Chinese  district  is 
unique  as  being  the  smallest  colony  of  the  greatest  people  in 
the  world's  most  populous  city.  The  Chinese  never  go  where 
they  are  not  wanted,  and  they  are  neither  needed  nor  wanted 
in  London  in  any  other  capacity  save  as  students  who,  paying 
their  way  liberally,  form  a  considerable  and  increasing  element 
in  the  great  English  city. 


146    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

The  Limehouse  Settlement  back  from  the  Bernardo  Homes 
and  the  Whitechapel  District  with  its  Sidney  Street  and  slum 
quarters  are,  indeed,  pathetic  confessions  of  English  and  Chinese 
poverty,  but  both  races  seem  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  im- 
maculate appearance  of  their  shops  and  rooming  houses.  "Lodg- 
ing for  respectable  men  6d,"  "Clean  shaving  Id,"  and  other 
similar  signs  show  the  character  of  this  odd  and  to  me  the 
strangest  of  all  quarters  in  London,  where  the  soft,  light  foot- 
fall of  the  Chinese  is  heard  as  he  rubs  elbows  in  the  narrow 
winding  walks  with  the  British. 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  Chinese  about  here?"  I  asked 
of  a  keeper  of  a  "pub,"  for  only  British  are  allowed  to  keep 
"pubs"  in  Limehouse  District. 

"All  right.  They  leave  us  alone  and  we  leave  them  alone. 
I've  been  here  for  over  thirty  years — that  was  when  they  first 
commenced  to  come — and  have  never  known  them  to  bother 
anyone,"  he  answered. 

No,  the  little  London  Chinese  Colony  never  bothers.  It  is 
just  a  homesick  rest  place  of  the  stokers  and  stewards  who  have 
followed  on  their  way,  two  long  months'  journey  between  their 
home  land  and  England.  You  see  them  together,  the  steward 
and  the  fireman,  and  it  is  hard  to  tell  one  from  the  other,  each 
with  his  unsoiled  hands.  Both  are  adapted  and  equally  in- 
telligent in  both  occupations.  One  just  happens  to  be  a  steward 
and  the  other  just  happens  to  be  a  stoker. 

"They  stand  the  'eat  orful  good!"  exclaimed  a  British  sub- 
ject as  I  lingered  in  the  "pub,"  he  looking  admiringly  at  the 
half  crown  I  threw  upon  the  bar. 

Conscious  of  my  obligation  in  the  proffer  of  sociability  I 
invited  him  and  the  others  present  to  join  me  in  soda  water, 
anticipating  a  perfect  volley  of  interesting  information  con- 
cerning the  Chinese  from  the  Limehouse  Britisher's  point  of 
view.  But  in  this  I  was  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  the 
only  information  which  I  could  get  from  the  bibulous  resi- 


The  Chinese  Abroad  147 

dents  was  to  the  effect  that  "them  Chinymen  stands  the  'eat 
of  the  fires  orful  good." 

Somewhat  disappointed  in  my  search  for  information,  I  in- 
quired of  the  busy  busman  on  the  way  home,  who  volunteered: 

"Yes,  you  never  have  to  worry  about  the  Chinese.  They 
give  us  their  penny  or  their  two  pennies  and  we  never  have 
to  worry  about  getting  them  off  when  their  fare  is  up.  We 
gets  in  lots  of  troubles  over  our  fares.  We're  supposed  to 
know  where  the  passenger  ort  to  get  off,  for  otherwise  a  man 
could  pay  one  penny  and  ride  two  pennies'  worth.  I  wish  the 
Jews  would  take  lessons  from  the  Chinymen.  The  Jews  give 
us  a  penny  and  try  to  ride  two  pennies'  worth,  but  the  Chinese 
get  off  when  their  penny  ride  is  done." 

Yes,  it  is  a  strange  sight,  Limehouse  Causeway  at  night! 
Not  remarkable,  merely  odd  and  strange,  with  narrow  wind- 
ing streets  and  the  lights  of  the  public  houses  shining  out 
foggily  with  here  and  there  a  lonely  shop  or  restaurant.  And 
then  the  lodging  houses,  from  which  come  neat,  clean  looking 
Chinese,  some  of  whom  have  worked  long  and  painfully  before 
the  blazing  furnaces  of  world  girdling  ships;  others  from 
Liverpool  just  for  the  trip  to  the  great  city,  but  ever  with 
the  thought  of  the  far-away  Cathay,  their  country,  where  some 
day  they  will  be  telling  stories  of  the  wonders  they  have  seen 
in  London  Town,  just  as  our  own  Jack  Tars  used  to  bring 
home  their  tales  of  far-away  China. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CHINESE  AS  THE  BROWN  MAN'S  GUIDE 

Giving  the  Spaniards  full  credit  for  their  colonization  and 
commercial  exploitation  of  the  Philippines,  the  fact  will  even- 
tually be  established  in  history  that  the  Chinese  before,  during 
and  after  Spanish  occupancy  did  far  more  for  raising  the 
standard  of  the  inhabitants  of  those  islands. 

I  recall  during  the  dark  days  of  the  reconcentration  of 
Batangas  Province  asking  a  prominent  Filipino,  one  of  the 
few  high  officials  of  pure  native  blood: 

"What  in  your  opinion  is  the  best  way  of  stopping  this 
warfare  against  American  occupation?" 

He  hesitated  a  moment,  took  out  his  handkerchief,  grace- 
fully flecked  off  from  his  immaculate  shirt  front  some  imaginary 
dust,  refolded  and  then  carefully  replaced  his  handkerchief, 
and  then  leaning  toward  me  in  that  confidential  way  which 
is  a  characteristic  of  the  race,  said  in  a  low  voice : 

"The  Chinese!  Susenoria!  The  Chinese!  Sir!  They 
alone  can  bring  that  industry  and  law  abidingness  which  will 
overcome  the  idleness  and  profligacy  of  my  own  race." 

He  leaned  back  as  though  overcome  by  the  very  audacity 
and  disloyalty  of  his  assertion,  and  then  added  in  a  still  lower 
voice : 

"But  say  nothing  about  my  confession,  for  if  the  truth  in 
my  heart  were  known  I  would  be  asesinato !  I  would  be  killed  !" 

Shocked  as  I  was  at  his  confession  of  racial  failure  and 
opprobrious  as  it  seemed  to  me  at  the  time,  before  I  had  gone 
through  half  of  my  six  years  in  the  Philippines  I  became  abso- 
lutely convinced  that  he  was  right. 

What  the  Chinese  have  done  for  the   Straits   Settlement 

148 


The  Chinese  as  the  Brown  Man's  Guide       149 

and  without  taking  away  a  single  chance  from  the  natives,  they 
could  in  even  a  larger  measure  do  for  the  Philippines  and  to 
the  great  betterment  of  the  condition  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  Chinese  are  the  only  people  who  preserve  intact  their 
physical  powers  and  endurance  over  any  considerable  period  of 
residence  in  the  tropics.  They  are  likewise  the  only  people  who 
continue  their  manner  and  method  of  life  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another  entirely  independent  of  the  other  races  among 
whom  they  may  live.  The  Filipinos  as  one  of  the  weaker 
races  are  particularly  influenced  by  the  dominating  race  to 
the  full  extent  of  their  ability  to  imitate.  They  are  purely  a 
child  of  nature  people  whose  whole  ambition  would  today 
probably  still  be  concentrated  in  their  fishing  nets,  their  coco 
groves  and  rice  paddies  had  they  not  been  awakened  to  a 
higher  standard  of  living  by  the  Chinese  immigrants  who,  from 
the  earliest  period  of  their  history,  came  and  went  from  their 
shores  only  distant  from  Southern  China  a  scant  half  thousand 
miles.  Although  Indian  influence  is  claimed  by  reason  of 
the  large  number  of  Sanscrit  roots  in  the  prevailing  Filipino 
languages  or  rather  dialects,  such  influence  is  purely  linguistic. 

Whatever  the  Filipino  knows  today  of  the  trades  and  crafts, 
outside  of  his  own  rude  arts  and  manufactures,  the  Chinese 
has  taught  him.  About  the  only  educational  achievements  of 
the  Spaniard  among  them  were  the  introduction  of  his  lan- 
guage, his  music  and  his  religion.  The  very  churches  and, 
convents,  sometimes  wonderfully  massive  and  pretentious,  were 
built  not  by  the  natives  nor  the  Spaniards  but  by  the  Chinese 
artisans  who  came  over  from  China  to  ply  their  trades  during 
a  dozen  or  so  profitable  years,  and  who  then,  with  the  reward 
of  their  labor,  returned  to  their  own  country.  With  these 
artisans  came  large  numbers  of  Chinese  merchants,  cooks,  bar- 
bers and  general  purveyors  to  their  needs,  for  these  men  of 
brain  and  brawn  of  the  walled  cities  of  China  looked  with 
contempt  upon  the  rude,  primitive,  half  savage  way  of  Filipino 


150    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

living,  without  even  the  elegance  of  the  chop  stick  to  relieve 
the  disgusting  promiscuous  fingering  of  the  food  from  a  common 
dish.  Such  men  as  they  had  to  be  followed  by  their  own  pur- 
veyors of  comfort,  and  it  was  generally  these  purveyors  and 
not  the  skilled  craftsmen  anxious  to  get  back  to  their  families 
at  home  who  lingered  and  fell  willing  victims  to  the  propinquity 
of  Filipino  women. 

But  even  though  the  best  of  those  early  Chinese  immigrants 
did  not  often  become  the  father  of  families,  the  children  of 
the  weaker  sort  of  them  immediately  showed  an  improvement 
upon  the  native  strain  until  today,  although  derisively  called 
"Chino  Mestizo"  they  really  represent  the  preponderance  of  all 
Filipino  intelligence. 

Envy  is  the  greatest  of  all  motives  in  engendering  racial 
hatred,  and  the  Chinese,  like  the  Jews,  were  continuously  perse- 
cuted and  even  massacred  by  the  wholesale.  The  sons,  grandsons 
and  great  grandsons  of  Chinese,  in  an  effort  to  prove  their 
loyalty  to  the  other  side  of  their  origin,  were  among  the  first 
to  lead  in  these  frequent  bloody  onslaughts  against  the  Chinese. 

Even  today  the  Chinese  is  an  object  of  envy  in  the  Philip- 
pines, and  it  was  in  recognition  of  this  envy  that  we  passed 
our  unjust  and  ridiculous  Chinese  exclusion  act  in  the  Philip- 
pines— a  piece  of  legislation  that  raised  a  barrier  against  the 
only  real  development  that  can  ever  come  to  those  islands,  for 
whatever  advance  the  Filipino  will  make  under  our  domination 
will  be  more  of  the  literary  sort  rather  than  the  practical  ad- 
vance of  agriculture  which  is  the  only  resource  of  that  country 
at  the  present  time.  A  mere  literary  progress  means  more 
mischievous  leaders,  more  revolutions  and  less  opportunity  for 
the  natives  who,  dwelling  along  the  distant  seashores  and  re- 
mote mountain  districts,  are  still  practically  in  the  same  state 
as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Magellan. 

Some  day  restrictions  against  the  admission  of  the  Chinese 
will  be  removed  and  in  the  meantime  the  natives  will  have 


The  Chinese  as  the  Brown  Man's  Guide        151 

to  depend  almost  entirely  upon  those  forty  thousand  who  still 
remain  in  the  islands  for  much  of  their  practical  advancement. 
I  do  not  wish  to  discredit  our  attempt  at  trade  teaching  in 
those  far  distant  islands.  I  will  merely  cite  an  instance,  leav- 
ing you  to  judge  of  the  effect. 

In  1907  a  trade  school  had  been  established  in  Batangas, 
capital  of  Batangas  Province,  for  three  years,  a  time  sufficient 
to  teach  some  one  of  the  several  trades  to  at  least  a  sufficient 
number  of  natives  to  supply  the  artisan  demand  of  the  city 
in  which  the  school  was  located,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  if 
anyone  had  any  work  to  be  done,  from  the  making  of  a  key 
to  the  repair  of  an  iron  roof,  there  was  only  one  man  in  the 
town  to  go  to.  He  was  an  ancient  Chinese,  a  jack-of -all-trades. 
The  children  laughed  at  him  when  he  passed  along  the  streets 
with  his  grotesque  back  doubled  over  with  two  score  years  of 
the  hardest  sort  of  labor.  A  couple  of  natives  would  follow 
him  carrying  his  tools,  but  when  he  came  to  the  place  where 
he  was  needed  he  was  the  only  one  who  knew  how  to  use  them, 
and  a  crowd  would  always  gather  to  watch  him  at  his  labor. 
They  called  him  the  "snail"  because  of  his  great  bent-up  body, 
but  I  know  from  personal  experience  that  during  the  whole 
six  years  that  I  regularly  held  court  in  that  city  of  fifty  thou- 
sand that  he  was  the  only  man  I  could  find  to  repair  an  iron 
trunk  or  mend  a  latch. 

Yes,  the  Chinese  are  needed  in  the  Philippines ! 
'  If  the  law  would  admit  them  their  good  humor  and  con- 
ciliatory natures  would  soon  put  them  on  a  friendly  footing 
with  the  natives,  to  the  great  betterment  of  the  Filipinos.  The 
influence  of  Chinese  industry  would  penetrate  back  to  the 
remotest  recesses  of  the  mountains  where  the  half  tutored 
Tao  native,  struggling  to  drag  a  livelihood  with  his  rude  tools 
from  the  bountiful  lap  of  nature,  would  welcome  his  approach 
as  a  competent  and  kind  master  in  directing  his  energy.  The 
two  races  assimilate  readily  and  once  the  political  status  of 


152    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

both  was  made  equal  they  would  work  together  in  harmony, 
to  the  great  betterment  of  the  weaker  race. 

History  will  prove  the  truth  of  this  assertion  after  we  have 
ceased  blundering  and  trying  to  beat  back  the  waves  of  Chinese 
population  which  must,  as  sure  as  water  seeks  its  level,  even- 
tually break  upon  the  shores  of  those  islands  so  long  neglected 
by  the  hand  of  industry. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

AN  ASIATIC   MELTING  POT 

It  seems  almost  wicked  to  say  that  the  real  salvation  of 
the  Filipino  people  lies  in  their  miscegenation  with  the  Chinese 
and  the  consequent  creation  of  a  new  race.  But  such  is  actually 
the  case,  as  can  be  proven  hy  the  actual  experience  of  such 
miscegenation. 

The  Filipinos,  and  by  the  designation  I  mean  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  islands  who  are  not  of  the  negro  type,  are 
wonderfully  lacking  in  any  heavy  mental  effort.  They  make 
good  musicians,  have  a  propensity  for  literature  and  even  art, 
but  the  demands  of  practical  life  and  much  of  the  activity 
which  they  have  shown  has  been  under  the  leadership  of  those 
who  were  part  Chinese.  The  Chinese  infusion  of  blood  among 
them  is  comparatively  large,  but  not  as  much  as  would  have 
been  the  case  had  not  the  Spaniards,  by  massacres  and  the 
Americans  by  exclusion  laws,  prevented  them  from  galvanizing 
the  weaker  race  by  the  new  forces  of  their  stronger  natures. 
As  before  remarked  the  Chinese,  as  a  pure  race,  have  a  won- 
derful effect  upon  building  up  the  less  pure.  Even  rare  cases 
of  miscegenation  with  the  negro  have  demonstrated  that  even 
that  race  is  not  immune  from  the  benefit,  from  a  mental  stand- 
point, of  the  Chinese  admixture.  The  white  race  alone,  be- 
cause of  its  even  greater  remoteness  from  the  yellow  race  than 
from  the  negro,  does  not  succumb  to  such  miscegenation. 

The  Filipinos  owe,  as  we  have  before  noticed,  more  to  the 
Chinese  than  to  the  Spaniards  or  the  Americans  for  their  instruc- 
'tion  in  the  crafts,  trades  and  the  calling  of  commerce  and 
what  little  they  have  of  industry.  Even  the  garments  which 
they  wear  today  have  been  copied  from  the  Chinese,  the  shirt 

153 


154    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

being  yet  called  La  camisa  chinesca  and  the  common  footwear 
Chinelas.  All  the  native  artisans  use  their  tools  as  do  the 
Chinese.  Their  languages  all  over  the  Archipelago  are  infused 
with  Chinese  words  and,  in  spite  of  the  activity  of  the  friars 
in  suppressing  them,  many  of  the  still  surviving  native  cus- 
toms show  themselves  to  be  a  counterpart  of  those  of  the 
Chinese. 

There  is  very  much  that  is  likeable  in  the  native  Filipino. 
Find  him  where  you  will  he  is  attractive  in  his  personality 
and  if  it  would  be  possible  for  him  to  live  on  in  his  almost 
idle  enjoyment  of  life,  none  would  begrudge  him  his  existence 
if  he  did  not  occupy  a  most  wonderfully  rich  chain  of  island 
countries  which  the  rest  of  humanity  will  ultimately  exact  from 
him  in  case  he  can  not  defend  his  right  to  it  by  his  own  labor 
and  industry. 

But  that  time  will  come,  and  perhaps  sooner  than  he  ex- 
pects: the  time  when  the  Filipino  will  have  to  give  an  account 
of  his  stewardship  of  his  islands,  and  failing  to  prove  his  right 
to  them  a  few  generations  will  be  sufficient  to  place  him  among 
the  races  of  yesterday. 

How  then  can  he  save  himself  from  this  eventual  extermina- 
tion? By  doing  what  he  has  always  done  in  the  past — by 
miscegenating  even  when  the  white  man  interfered  with  him 
and  denied  him  the  right  by  affiliating  and  harmonizing  with 
the  Chinese  and  in  following  their  guidance.  The  consequent 
result  of  the  intimacy  of  the  two  races  is  miscegenation  and 
the  gradual  upbuilding  of  the  Filipino  race  into  a  part  Chinese 
type,  particularly  adapted  to  maintain  its  place  as  a  virile 
although  tropical  people.  By  this  natural  development  every 
single  member  of  the  race  would  be  benefited  and  none  in- 
jured, for  the  change  of  course  could  only  be  effected  in  several 
generations. 

As  it  is  at  the  present  time,  the  full  blooded  Filipino  has 
but  little  chance  against  his  Chinese  Mestizo  brother  who  takes 


An  Asiatic  Melting  Pot  155 

to  himself  nearly  all  the  offices  of  emolument  in  politics  and 
dominates  trade  life  generally. 

During  six  years  of  active  and  comprehensive  life  in  the 
Philippine  provinces,  I  have  never  yet  seen,  among  thousands, 
a  Chinese  Mestizo  who  was  a  debtor  slave — aparcero,  as  a 
dependent  laborer  on  shares  is  called — for  they  are  the  masters, 
not  the  creatures,  of  the  whole  situation  by  reason  of  their 
superior  intelligence  and  activity.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  friars  frowned  upon  Chinese  immigration.  They  did 
not  wish  the  standard  of  the  Filipinos  to  be  raised  as  a  menace 
against  their  own  authority. 

The  commercial  advantage  accruing  to  the  United  States 
in  repealing  the  exclusion  laws  would  be  very  great.  It  would 
transform  the  Philippines  into  a  center  of  intense  activity, 
developing  its  rich  resources  and  greatly  benefiting  the  natives 
as  well  as  giving  us  a  well  merited  though  long  delayed  return 
for  the  five  thousand  American  lives  and  the  millions  which 
we  have  spent  in  putting  the  islands  on  a  peace  footing. 

In  addition  to  this  it  would  bring  us  the  great  gratitude 
of  the  Chinese  people  who  are  stifling  under  present  condi- 
tions to  find  an  outlet  for  their  energy. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   FUTURE   RELIGION    OF   CHINA 

I  shall  never  forget  the  enthusiastic  forecasts  made  by  a 
friend,  an  American  missionary  born  in  China  of  missionary 
parents,  in  regard  to  the  permanency  of  the  Christian  religion 
in  China.  We  were  driving  on  through  the  ruins  of  the  old 
Manchu  city  of  Nankin  when  he  pointed  at  the  scenes  of  desola- 
tion about  him  and  said: 

"See,  everything  is  razed  to  the  ground  and  but  a  few 
months  ago  the  rulers  lived  here !  Now  they  are  gone  forever 
and  the  greatest  obstacle  to  Christian  progress  in  China  has 
by  the  hand  of  God  been  thrust  away !" 

"Do  you  think  that  the  Chinese  now  will  generally  accept 
Christianity?"  I  asked. 

"Why  not?"  he  responded  with  fervor.  "China  is  a  land  of 
alien  faiths.  It  can  almost  be  said  not  to  have  one  of  its  own. 
Taoism  is  but  a  superstition,  Buddhism  mere  imported  mysti- 
cism and  Confucianism  a  waning  philosophy.  Christianity  is 
the  only  real  religion  they  have  ever  known,  and  they  are  not 
at  all  an  irreligious  people,"  and  his  eyes  shone  with  the  fervor 
of  a  prophet  in  his  belief. 

It  may  be  here  stated  that  Confucianism  is  not  a  religion 
in  that  it  puts  forth  no  divinity  and  teaches  nothing  of  life 
after  death,  thus  not  conflicting  with  Christianity  in  its  essence 
and  in  fact  supporting  it  from  the  basis  of  practical  ethics 
and  morality.  The  trouble  from  our  viewpoint  with  Con- 
fucianism is  that  the  Chinese  would  use  it  as  a  substitute  for 
Christianity.  Otherwise  we  might  be  more  tolerant  in  admit- 
ting that  adherence  to  Confucianism,  were  it  brought  down  to 
the  present  day's  demands  by  interpretation,  would  in  a  measure 
qualify  one  for  the  exactions  of  Christianity.  As  a  political 

156 


The  Future  Religion  of  China  157 

sage  Confucius  taught  that  every  man,  regardless  of  his  social 
station,  high  or  low,  was  accountable  for  good  government. 

I  will  quote  without  comment  from  the  mandate  issued 
in  the  matter  of  the  so-called  "Worship  of  Heaven,"  the  follow- 
ing translation  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Associated  Press 
being  taken  as  correct : 

"Keligious  liberty  is  observed  throughout  the  world.  Our 
Republic  is  composed  of  five  races — Chinese,  Manchus,  Mon- 
golians, Mohammedans  and  Thibetans — and  their  historical 
traditions  differ.  Their  religious  beliefs  are  difficult  therefore 
to  unify.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  adopt  a  state  religion,  for 
such  a  step  might  be  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  people. 
But  sacrifices  offered  at  the  proper  seasons  to  the  ancient  saints 
and  sages,  as  prescribed  in  the  laws  of  the  late  Ching  Dynasty, 
did  not  touch  the  question  of  religion.  Since  they  are  not  in 
conflict  with  a  republican  form  of  government,  they  should  be, 
continued  as  a  token  of  respect  on  the  part  of  the  succeeding 
generations." 

But  what  will  be  the  future  religion  of  China? 

There  probably  will  never  be  any  one  faith  accepted  by 
them  all,  for  their  long  observed  religious  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  thought  will  develop  much  divergence  of  belief. 
The  nine  classics,  which  for  twenty  centuries  have  been  to  them 
what  the  Bible  has  been  to  us,  will  of  course  indefinitely  con- 
tinue its  influence. 

The  great  moulding  influence  of  the  future  religions  of 
China  will  be  the  sermon  on  the  mount  and  the  beautiful 
and  heart  reaching  story  of  the  gentle  Galilean  "who  went 
about  doing  good."  Yes !  That  will  be  the  influence — follow- 
ing Christ's  living  example — for  the  Chinese  are  not  affected 
by  thoughts  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  the  hereafter  as 
are  we,  a  more  emotional  race.  I  doubt  if  a  sincere  convert  can 
be  made  among  the  Chinese  by  threatening  him  with  hell  fire 
and  torments.  It  is  the  reward  of  present  good  conduct  which 


158    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

appeals  to  his  heart  and  reason.  The  whole  foundation  of 
the  philosophy  of  Confucius  rests  upon  the  simple  theory  that 
it  pays  to  be  good.  Confucius,  deploring  the  fact  that  man 
could  not  look  beyond  the  grave,  taught  that  human  happiness 
consisted  not  in  trying  to  reach  out  to  the  unknown  but  to  be 
in  harmony  with  the  known  and  to  perform  every  obligation 
toward  the  family  and  do  good  to  fellow  men. 

It  strikes  me  that  there  is  something  of  what  I  might  term 
biological  immortality  in  Confucian  philosophy,  and  this 
speculation  is  confirmed  by  the  conduct  of  the  higher  classes 
of  Chinese.  It  may  be  expressed  as  follows: 

"Man  does  not  know  what  he  was  before  he  was  born — 
why  then  should  he  pretend  to  know  what  he  will  be  when 
he  is  dead?  He  knows,  however,  that  the  blood  of  his  forbears 
still  courses  through  his  veins,  just  as  he  hopes  that  his  own 
blood  will,  when  he  is  cold  in  death,  still  warm  the  natures 
of  his  children.  Now,  whatever  of  evil  he  does  will  likewise, 
descending  into  the  lives  of  his  children,  live  on;  so  therefore 
he  should  shun  evil  and  hold  only  unto  the  good  that  he  him- 
self may  be  rendered  happier  by  being  ever  reminded  of  the  good 
which  he  is  doing  his  descendants." 

Religious  changes  sometime  lead  and  shape  political  changes. 
It  is  an  encouraging  sign  that  old  Chinese  temples  are  being 
turned  into  schoolhouses  over  which  Christian  missionaries 
preside.  Confucius  can  still  be  their  sage  when  Christ  is  their 
Savior. 


Chien  Men  Street,  Peking. 
Camel  caravan,  Peking. 


CHAPTEE  XX 

THE  ILLUMINATION  OF  CHOP   SUEY 

Nearly  all  of  the  last  American  generation's  actual  knowl- 
edge of  the  Chinese  came  from  the  laundry,  and  now  it  is  the 
chop  suey  restaurant  which  has  usurped  its  place  as  a  general 
intelligencer  of  Cathay  and  its  people.  I  remember  as  a  lad 
treasuring  the  acquaintance  of  the  village  laundryman  and 
ecstatically  enjoying  the  confidences  of  his  almost  unintelligible 
English  as  he  sputtered  water  out  over  the  freshly  washed 
clothes. 

After  the  laundryman  came  the  cook  with  his  chop  suey 
restaurant,  at  first  a  rather  dubious  affair  as  an  all  night  eat- 
ing place  on  the  edge  of  the  levee  district,  and  then  finally 
showing  its  curved  roof  balcony  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
most  expensive  leaseholds. 

And  with  it  came  the  first  Chinese  rapprochement,  for  the 
multitudes  of  American  customers,  far  from  finding  that 
Chinese  food  was  unpalatable  and  dangerously  promiscuous  in 
the  choice  of  meats,  was  really  toothsome  and  gratifying  to 
hitherto  undiscovered  nerves  of  the  palate.  The  sensible  idea 
of  letting  the  cook  finish  his  work  completely  by  carving  and 
cutting  the  food  up  in  the  kitchen  before  sending  it  in  for 
service  was  a  revelation  to  many  who  had  always  believed  it 
to  be  their  duty  to  assist  the  cook  by  doing  his  carving  and 
cutting.  Many  believed  that  the  restaurants  took  their  name 
from  the  chopping  and  carving  of  the  food  before  it  was  brought 
on,  but  the  word  chop  in  this  instance  does  not  correspond  even 
to  pidgeon  English,  but  is  a  corruption  of  Cha,  meaning  some- 
thing to  drink,  and  Sui,  spelt  suey,  meaning  something  to  eat, 
and  thus  you  have  in  the  combination  of  chop  suey  the  full 

159 


160    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

fledged  indication  of  a  place  where  things  to  drink  and  to  eat 
are  provided. 

But  in  the  chop  suey  restaurant  of  today  as  in  the  laundries 
of  yesterday  but  little  real  idea  of  China  is  to  be  had.  I  have 
been  in  many,  very  many,  Chinese  restaurants  in  real  China, 
and  I  have  never  known  any  that  seemed  much  like  the  Chinese 
restaurants  at  home.  In  the  first  place  they  are  overelaborate 
and  finer  than  you  will  ordinarily  find  in  China,  but  without 
the  little  artistic  touches  that  gratify  the  Chinese  aesthete. 
But  they  are  larger,  roomier,  costlier  and  incidentally  much 
cleaner  than  anything  to  be  usually  found  in  any  part  of  China, 
even  including  the  private  quarters  of  the  most  opulent  and 
extravagant  Mandarin,  for  public  eating  places  are  not  pat- 
ronized in  China  in  even  a  small  degree  as  they  are  in  America. 

But  out  of  these  chop  suey  restaurants  are  growing  im- 
portant businesses  which  will  in  some  instances  be  very  large. 
A  railway  official  showed  me  an  invoice  recently  where  the 
transportation  charges  from  China  amounted  to  over  two  thou- 
sand dollars  on  a  single  consignment.  The  chop  suey  catering 
companies  nearly  all  do  a  general  jobbing  business,  and  it  is 
through  their  channels  perhaps  that  the  new  Chinese-American 
trading  companies  will  naturally  form  themselves.  Nearly  all 
the  share  owners  in  the  restaurants  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  are  Cantonese  or  Fukienese,  the  waiters  and  some  of  the 
cooks  being  Korean  who  are  in  nowise  to  be  put  in  the  same 
category  as  the  Chinese. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

AMERICAN  COMMERCE  IN  CHINA 

An  American,  a  number  of  years  ago,  went  to  Shanghai 
with  a  consignment  of  goods  to  see  what  could  be  done  in  open- 
ing up  trade  with  the  Yangtse  Valley.  He  called  upon  the 
Chinese  merchant  who  was  the  first  on  his  list  and  carefully 
went  over  the  details  of  a  proposition  to  introduce  the  goods. 
The  Chinese  merchant  imperturbably  listened  to  the  details  of 
the  proposition,  the  American  salesman  being  somewhat  down- 
cast at  the  little  show  of  response  made  by  his  hoped-for 
customer  whom  he  believed,  by  his  apparently  indifferent  man- 
ner, would  abruptly  refuse  to  buy. 

Much  to  his  surprise  and  delight,  however,  the  Chinese, 
after  thinking  awhile,  calmly  said: 

"Very  well,  I  will  take  all  you  have." 

Since  this  would  leave  the  salesman  without  any  of  his 
large  consignment  left,  and  with  a  couple  of  months  of  idle- 
ness before  him  in  waiting  for  new  supplies,  he  explained  the 
situation  to  his  new  found  customer  who  consented  to  take  a 
certain  percentage  of  the  goods  he  then  had  and  wait  for  the 
balance  of  his  order.  The  salesman  joyfully  proceeded  to  the 
second  name  on  his  list.  Here  again  the  proposition  was  made 
without  indication  of  favorable  response.  When  he  was  through, 
however,  this  Chinese  merchant  also  said: 

"Good,  I  will  take  the  whole  lot." 

Thus  as  the  salesman  went  about  he  found  that  he  could 
have  sold  many  times  the  amount  of  his  original  consignment, 
He  carefully  adhered  to  his  contract  with  the  Chinese,  guard- 
ing carefully  against  any  possible  misunderstanding,  and  even- 

161 


162    Oar  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

tually  with  the  help  of  others,  established  a  very  large  business 
all  over  China. 

The  Chinese  are  good  business  men.  They  come  to  con- 
clusions slowly,  never  attempt  anything  beyond  them,  and  in 
very  unpretentious  surroundings  buy  and  sell  large  quantities  of 
goods.  They  consider  an  offer  carefully  and  then  refuse  or 
accept  it  at  once.  Ordinarily  there  is  no  bargaining  or  at- 
tempt to  beat  down  the  price.  They  are  satisfied  with  small 
profits  on  a  large  volume  of  trade.  The  solvency  of  a  Chinese 
merchant  is  more  easily  ascertained  than  with  us,  because  they 
balance  up  their  accounts  with  each  Chinese  Kew  Year  and 
any  insolvency  is  thus  quickly  detected.  They  know  no  bank- 
ruptcy courts.  No  greater  disgrace  can  befall  a  Chinese  than 
failure  in  business.  They  are  extremely  cautious  in  all  their 
undertakings,  but  will  not  hesitate  to  take  a  chance  when  the 
loss  is  so  small  that  it  will  not  affect  their  solvency. 

The  comprador — meaning  in  Portuguese,  buyer — system  has 
its  advantages  and  its  drawbacks.  As  advantages  it  solves  both 
the  question  of  agents'  commission  and  provides  a  rather  im- 
partial witness  to  every  transaction.  The  comprador  adds  his 
own  commission  to  the  price  offered  to  the  seller  or  buyer. 
For  instance,  if  a  firm  offers  ten  thousand  yards  of  cotton  at 
ten  cents  per  yard  to  the  total  price  of  one  thousand  dollars, 
the  comprador  will  add  fifty  dollars  or  one  hundred  dollars  for 
his  own  services. 

The  great  disadvantage  of  the  comprador  is  the  fact  that 
he  continually  stands  between  the  European  or  American  trader 
and  the  Chinese.  One  of  the  reasons  given  by  the  British 
as  to  why  they  do  not  more  commonly  learn  Chinese  is  that 
the  compradors  would  not  be  so  open  in  their  dealings  as  agent 
and  interpreter  if  they  knew  that  the  British  principal  under- 
stood their  conversation,  for  neither  buyer  nor  seller  ordinarily 
knows  what  the  commission  of  the  comprador  is.  However, 
judging  by  the  wealth  many  compradors  acquire  in  a  com- 


American  Commerce  in  China  163 

paratively  short  time,  it  must  indeed  be  very  large  while  at 
the  same  time  acting  as  a  depressing  influence  on  the  com- 
mercial transactions  of  the  two  peoples. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  of  commercial  success  in  China 
is  a  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  which,  considering  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  learning  to  read  and  write  it,  is  com- 
paratively easy  of  colloquial  acquirement.  For  Chinese,  not 
being  a  highly  declined  and  inflected  language,  is  learned  much 
as  English  by  stringing  one  word  on  after  another  with  little 
grammatical  form  and  arrangement.  The  pronunciation  of 
the  Mandarin  does  not  present  any  greater  difficulties  than 
the  French,  the  "tones"  being  comparatively  easy  of  acquire- 
ment by  the  average  ear.  The  Chinese  themselves  are  very 
quick  to  catch  meanings,  and  are  very  indulgent  in  over- 
looking the  faults  of  the  beginner's  attempts.  Even  the  com- 
mon street  language  as  spoken  in  Peking  is  wonderfully  clear, 
soft  and  mellow  toned,  the  words  being  uttered  with  a  clear 
metallic  timbre  very  different  from  the  more  vociferant  tones 
of  some  of  the  other  dialects. 

With  a  knowledge  of  the  language  the  field  of  Chinese  trade 
is  approachable  by  all.  To  obtain  information  as  to  the  com- 
mercial rating  of  the  leading  merchants  and  their  require- 
ments is  an  easy  matter  and  simply  a  matter  of  asking  ques- 
tions. The  Chinese  business  man  is  very  democratic,  generally 
eating  his  meal  with  his  clerks,  and  seated  around  the  large 
circular  table  he  unaffectedly  cultivates  a  real  feeling  of  sincere 
co-operation  among  his  employes  by  the  familiarity  of  these 
daily  reunions  at  meals. 

Once  upon  making  a  purchase  a  foreigner  tendered  a  Chinese 
clerk  a  dollar  in  subsidiary  coin  for  a  purchase.  This  the  clerk 
refused  to  take,  claiming  that  fifteen  per  cent  more  had  to  be 
added  to  the  small  subsidiary  money  to  make  up  the  full  weight 
value  of  the  silver  Mexican  dollar.  Upon  the  customer  stating 
that  a  similar  tender  had  been  accepted  the  day  before  for  the 
same  article,  the  clerk  exclaimed: 


164    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

"Ah,  yes.  But  you  bought  it  from  the  proprietor  himself. 
He  can  afford  to  lose,  but  we,  his  clerks,  cannot  afford  to  lose 
for  him." 

There  is  a  great  demand  for  luxuries  in  China,  even  by 
the  poorer  classes.  The  most  indigent  coolie  thinks  that  he  is 
entitled  to  the  enjoyment  at  least  once  in  his  whole  lifetime 
of  every  luxury  of  the  rich. 

The  monetary  confusion,  owing  to  the  lack  of  any  standard 
(for  the  cash,  although  even  official,  is  hardly  a  standard),  is  a 
great  hindrance  to  business,  although  the  cause  of  unwarranted 
profits  to  the  Shansi  or  Banker's  Guild,  as  well  as  to  the  general 
banking  community. 

The  banks  make  their  computations  from  pounds  sterling 
to  taels,  which  are  supposed  to  be  an  ounce  of  pure  silver. 
From  taels  the  operation  is  carried  into  Mexican  dollars 
with  a  consequent  commission  to  the  banker.  From  Mexican 
dollars  the  computation  of  ratio  of  value  as  to  the  subsidiary 
coinage  must  be  ascertained,  for  the  relative  value  of  silver 
and  copper  vacillates  from  day  to  day  as  well  as  the  value  of 
gold  and  silver  in  their  relation  to  each  other.  This  gives 
the  banker  three  commissions  instead  of  one,  and  hence  one  of 
the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  immediate  fiscal  reform  of  China 
is  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  money  changers  and  bankers 
who  form  a  very  large  and  influential  class. 

The  small  Chinese  importer  sometimes  finds  an  advantage 
in  this  monetary  confusion.  When  silver  is  high  he  pays  for 
his  imports  in  gold,  which  is  cheap,  and  sells  for  silver,  which 
is  dear.  All  large  business  men,  however,  are  anxious  to  see 
a  thorough  fiscal  reform.  An  expert  at  Peking  thought  such 
a  reform  would  take  at  least  ten  years  under  present  condi- 
tions. But  with  the  currency  even  as  it  is,  trade  runs  along 
and  will  continue  to  develop. 

Only  to  the  numismatist  does  China  offer  some  compensa- 
tion in  the  floods  of  copper  and  other  coins  which  frequently 


American  Commerce  in  China  165 

do  not  represent  more  than  half  the  face  value.  Common 
copper  cash  is  frequently  a  thousand  years  old  and  Dr.  Adams 
of  Hanyang  told  me  that  he  once  had  given  him  in  change 
a  coin  which  was  dated  the  century  following  the  birth  of  Christ. 

The  Chinese  are  excellent  judges  of  value.  Whatever  is 
sold  to  them  must  be  exactly  as  represented.  American  manu- 
factured products,  on  account  of  their  high  quality,  will  rapidly 
grow  in  favor.  Our  agricultural  implements,  sewing  machines, 
interchangeable  system  watches  which  we  were  the  first  to 
manufacture,  as  well  as  clocks,  engines,  bicycles,  typewriters, 
motors,  musical  instruments  and  so  on  down  the  line  of  our 
high  quality  manufactured  list,  will  find  a  ready  market  in 
exacting  China.  The  Chinese  will  not  take  a  substitute  for  a 
good  article  if  they  know  it.  The  cheap  Japanese  imitation 
of  American  and  European  manufactures  is  easily  detected. 
A  large  American  manufacturer  of  machines  told  me  that  his 
firm  would  never  sell  a  machine  to  a  Japanese  nor  ship  their 
machines  to  Japan  for  fear  of  imitation.  But  the  Japanese 
are  not  alone  in  the  unwarranted  imitation  of  a  foreign  model. 
This  same  gentleman  told  me  that  a  color  printing  press  of 
American  manufacture  had  been  copied  by  some  European 
who  had  surreptitiously  obtained  one  of  their  models,  which 
was  so  carefully  imitated  that  one  could  hardly  tell  the  differ- 
ence in  appearance.  Far  from  hurting  the  American  machine, 
however,  the  American  machines  actually  continued  to  sell 
for  one  thousand  dollars  more  in  Germany  than  the  European 
imitation  which  could  not  imitate  the  superior  effects  of  metal- 
lurgy in  the  composition  of  the  metals  which  entered  into  the 
construction  of  the  machine.  The  American  firm  really  treated 
the  imitation  with  good  natured  contempt,  and  the  concern 
which  made  it  finally  went  to  the  wall. 

A  standard  of  quality  such  as  this  will  certainly  obtain 
and  hold  the  Chinese  market  for  our  metal  manufactures. 

Much  of  the   discouragement  offered  to  American  manu- 


166    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

facturers  against  venturing  for  the  Chinese  trade  comes  from 
the  superficial  reports  brought  home  by  our  globe  trotters,  who 
would  make  us  believe  that  we  have  failed  before  we  have  even 
tried.  I  asked  a  number  of  these  when  they  thought  our  com- 
mercial chances  in  China  would  develop,  and  here  is  a  composite 
answer : 

"I  don't  understand  how  the  Chinese  can  buy  anything 
from  us  yet,  because  there  seems  to  be  so  little  money  in  the 
country.  Our  goods  are  expensive  because  of  the  quality.  They 
naturally  will,  therefore,  purchase  the  cheaper  European  goods. 
Then  they  have  no  patriotism  and  without  patriotism  they 
will  be  a  long  time  in  their  economic  development.  They  have 
little  prospect  of  a  perfected  army.  They  are  also  a  very  filthy 
race,  do  not  speak  a  common  language,  have  no  capital  to 
develop  their  natural  wealth,  and  any  commercial  venture  among 
them  would  be  attended  with  great  risk." 

To  these  abortive  conclusions  the  following  general  state- 
ment may  roughly  serve: 

There  is  actually  more  money  in  China  than  is  generally 
believed.  Because  of  coolie  poverty  one  must  not  think  that 
China  is  devoid  of  resources.  The  Chinese  have  shown  what 
they  can  do  in  the  development  of  a  country  even  without 
capital  by  their  wonderful  upbuilding  of  the  Federated  Malay 
States,  where  their  capital  was  only  strong  arms  and  enduring 
bodies.  Far  from  wanting  the  cheap  article  the  Chinese  is  a 
good  judge  of  value  and  wants  the  best.  To  them  the  motto 
is,  "The  best  is  none  too  good."  The  Chinese  have  indeed 
patriotism,  but  it  is  of  the  institutional  kind.  No  one  is  prouder 
of  his  country  than  the  Chinese.  I  met  a  Chinese  immigrant  in 
the  Straits  Settlement  who  had  never  been  in  China  nor  had 
his  father  nor  his  grandfather,  but  he  showed  in  his  conversa- 
tion a  love  for  Chinese  institutions  and  an  understanding  of 
them  which  was  indeed  impressive. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  our  trade  with  China  when,  on 


American  Commerce  in  China  167 

February  22,  1784,  our  first  American  ship  sailed  from  New 
York  City,  returning  in  May  of  the  following  year,  the  whole 
history  of  American  commerce  with  China  is  one  of  which 
America  may  well  be  proud.  To  show  the  fairness  which  in- 
spired American  shipmasters  of  those  days,  I  have  only  to 
cite  the  story  of  the  suspension  of  trade  in  October,  1821,  as 
narrated  in  the  January  North  American  Eeview  of  1835,  on 
account  of  the  homicide  of  a  Chinese  at  Whampoa,  the  sailor 
guilty  of  the  manslaughter  being  delivered  up  to  the  Chinese 
by  the  merchants,  who  said  "they  would  abide  by  the  Chinese 
law  because  it  prevailed  in  those  waters." 

Although  merchants  then  acted  as  counsel  without  salary, 
no  difficulty  sprang  up  between  the  Chinese  and  Americans 
because  of  the  fair  treatment  and  conciliatory  conduct  of  the 
Americans. 

In  spite  of  the  exclusive  attitude  of  America  and  the  now 
almost  forgotten  episode  of  the  boycott,  this  good  repute  of 
American  traders  in  China  still  continues,  and  American  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  will  today  find  in  new  China  a  clean, 
clear  record  of  fair  dealing  to  serve  now  to  their  advantage, 
although  thus  far  it  has  not  been  sufficiently  grasped,  since  busi- 
ness has  been  so  prosperous  at  home  that  Americans  have  not 
cared  to  bother  generally  with  the  distant  markets  of  the  far 
East. 

American  and  English  interests  are  necessarily  very  much 
interwoven,  so  that  it  is  hard  to  tell  at  times  where  the  one 
begins  and  the  other  ends,  and  in  the  aggregate  these  and 
added  interests  will  ultimately  form  a  great  balance  of  com- 
mercial power  in  the  Orient  if  properly  continued. 

The  tendency  of  the  American  is  to  follow  the  leadership 
of  the  old  British  models,  thus  losing  frequently  that  hustle 
and  initiative  which  the  American  deems  essential  to  successes 
made  anywhere.  The  British  in  Chinese  waters  and  provinces, 
by  virtue  of  their  long  trained  experience  and  their  thorough 


168    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

commercial  organization,  are  not  over  alive  to  the  necessity  of 
continual  activity  and  aggression.  Their  hours  of  business 
have  become  too  short  for  the  present-day  exaction  of  German 
competition.  Too  much  time  is  spent  at  the  clubs  and  sports 
are  sometimes  allowed  to  consume  the  best  part  of  the  day. 
Their  work  is  too  much  thrown  upon  the  natives  to  whose 
models  they  sometimes  show  a  tendency  to  revert.  Business 
establishments  are  frequently  found  to  be  filled  with  immature 
junior  Britishers  occupying  positions  which  demand  the  judg- 
ment of  older  men.  This  younger  set  is  particularly  susceptible 
to  the  influence  of  native  models. 

I  asked  a  young  bank  official  in  Peking  why  he  did  not 
have  an  adding  machine  in  his  bank.  He  replied: 

"Oh,  these  Chinese  are  born  accountants  and  they  can  do 
as  well  with  their  abacus  as  we  can  with  the  adding  machine." 

And  the  click  of  the  abacus  is  allowed  to  continue,  and  time 
is  continually  lost  in  going  over  a  long  mathematical  calcula- 
tion while  impatient  customers  and  patrons  of  the  bank  murmur 
and  wait  for  the  establishment  of  some  more  modern  competi- 
tive institution. 

There  is  very  much  of  excellence  in  all  British  models, 
and  their  business  organizations  are  as  perfected  as  those  of 
any  other  nation  as  a  general  rule,  but  I  believe  that  the 
American  opportunity  in  the  enjoyment  of  Chinese  trade  can 
only  be  enjoyed  by  the  American  going  out  into  the  field  as  a 
free  lance,  carrying  with  him  all  his  hustle  and  activity  and 
actuated  by  an  honest  desire  to  live  up  to  his  contract  there 
as  at  home  and  realizing  that  it  pays  to  please  in  details  even 
to  the  thickness  and  color  of  paper  that  may  wrap  the  product. 

The  Germans,  being  newer  comers  in  the  far  East,  are 
much  more  progressive  than  the  British  and  take  scrupulous 
pains  to  please  according  to  the  Chinese  viewpoint.  They  labor 
early  and  late  and  seek  to  bring  their  organization  up  to  the 
highest  European  and  American  standards.  Wonderful  indeed 


American  Commerce  in  China  169 

are  the  results  shown  by  the  Germans  during  the  last  few  years. 
Their  influence  is  everywhere  felt.  I  was  surprised  to  find  how 
many  Chinese  are  learning  to  speak  German  and  how  rapidly 
the  use  of  that  language  is  spreading ;  perhaps  because  the  Ger- 
mans have  taken  the  Chinese  more  fraternally  than  the  British 
have.  The  Germans  have  no  pidgeon  German  for  the  Chinese 
as  have  the  English  pidgeon  English.  Then  again  you  will 
rarely  find  an  Englishman  speaking  Chinese,  whereas  it  is 
becoming  daily  commoner  to  find  Germans  who  speak  the 
Mandarin  fluently.  While  traveling  through  Shantung  Prov- 
ince I  met  a  German  thirty  years  old  who  for  ten  years  had 
been  traveling  on  horseback  in  the  most  remote  and  inaccessible 
parts  of  Shantung  buying  peanuts  and  hides.  The  Germans 
no  longer  depend  on  compradors  as  before,  but  have  established 
their  own  special  agencies. 

The  capitulation  of  Tsingtau  to  the  British-Nipponese  forces 
was  inspired  by  the  German  government's  desire  to  save  the 
reservists  for  future  work  in  Shantung,  for  an  experienced 
colonist  is  worth  everything  to  the  home  government,  and  had 
they  been  allowed  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  a  futile  defense, 
it  would  have  taken  at  least  a  full  generation  to  have  filled 
up  the  depleted  ranks. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

HINTS    TO    MERCHANTS   AND   MANUFACTURERS 

Our  trade  with  China  is  still  very  small  because  we  have 
not  as  yet  tried  even  tentatively  to  obtain  that  trade  on  a 
large  scale.  Beyond  the  Standard  Oil  which,  with  its  famous 
seven  cent  Mei  Foo  (amiable  and  trustworthy)  lamps,  im- 
mediately created  an  enormous  demand  for  its  product,  and 
the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company,  the  British-American 
Tobacco  Company  and  a  few  other  large  corporations,  no  con- 
tinued and  systematic  attempt  has  been  put  forth 

A  director  of  one  of  the  great  Japanese  steamship  com- 
panies remarked  to  me: 

"The  Chinese  are  great  buyers,  but  what  they  are  buying 
today  is  but  a  bagatelle  to  what  they  will  buy  tomorrow."  Al- 
though they  are  looked  upon  as  a  poor  people  their  purchas- 
ing power  knows  no  end  because  of  their  tremendous  numbers. 

Since  the  awakening  of  China,  political  conditions  have  been 
so  disturbed  as  to  allow  but  little  data  to  judge  of  what  China's 
trade  really  means  to  the  world.  The  statistics  of  today,  as 
the  Japanese  above  quoted  suggested,  can  give  but  little  idea 
of  the  tremendous  foreign  buying  power  of  China  for  the  next 
full  generation.  At  the  present  time  the  great  majority  of 
Chinese,  the  poorer  classes,  are  merely  prospective  and  not 
actual  customers  for  any  foreign  seller,  but  even  eliminating 
these  classes  from  a  consideration  of  the  possibilities  of  mak- 
ing immediate  money  out  of  the  Chinese  trade,  the  present 
opportunities  are  very  large  and  attractive. 

Of  course  the  Chinese  will  only  buy  from  us  what  they  them- 
selves cannot  manufacture,  or  such  raw  products  as  they  them- 
selves cannot  produce  as  cheaply  as  we.  As  soon  as  they  have 
fully  modernized  their  own  industrial  life,  the  chances  are  that 

170 


Hints  to  Merchants  and  Manufacturers        171 

they  will  be  able  to  not  only  outmanufacture  us  and  outproduce 
us  along  many  lines  owing  to  the  high  quality  and  cheapness 
of  their  labor,  but  the  whole  world  as  well,  and  become  an  over- 
whelming competitor  rather  than  a  customer.  But  in  the 
meantime,  say  for  the  next  thirty  years,  they  will  before  they 
have  arrived  at  the  stage  of  their  own  manufacturing  indepen- 
dence have  to  be  supplied  with  tremendous  quantities  of  ex- 
ports of  the  largest  and  most  varied  character.  On  a  big 
scale  will  come  first  all  sorts  of  equipment,  rough  steel  ma- 
terials, machinery  and  rolling  stock  for  railroads  and  electric 
railways,  and  steel  products  for  mines  and  factories  and  general 
public  utilities,  including  the  important  item  of  large  and 
small  bridges.  Then  we  may  consider  the  agricultural  ma- 
chinery and  equipment,  including  millions  of  tons  of  American 
hardware;  then  articles  of  universal  domestic  use  and,  just  to 
let  the  imagination  run  riot  over  a  few  of  the  actual  present 
demands  of  the  Chinese  market,  I  will  mention  the  following 
promiscuous  list: 

Sheeting  cotton,  fleece  lined  goods,  shirtings,  buttons,  garters, 
underwear,  condensed  milk,  kerosene  stoves,  soaps,  candles, 
dyes,  lamps,  needles,  pins,  bottled  and  tinned  foods,  novelties 
of  all  sorts,  meat  choppers,  metal  beds,  clocks,  watches,  purses, 
combs,  brushes  and  all  sorts  of  toilet  articles;  shop  accessories, 
such  as  cash  registers,  duplicators,  computing  yard  measures, 
scales,  balances,  meat  cleavers,  tin,  glass  or  metal  boxes — the 
man  who  would  sell  a  good  cheap  cheese  box  of  wire  on  a 
metal  frame  could  make  a  fortune — all  sorts  of  household  goods, 
drugs,  roofing  material,  textile  products  of  all  kinds,  cotton 
piece  goods,  boots,  shoes  and  slippers,  talking  machines,  safes, 
photographic  supplies,  stoves,  even  cut  glass — of  which  the 
Chinese  are  very  fond  and  for  which  they  pay  fancy  prices; 
baking  powder — as  yet  unknown  to  the  bulk  of  Chinese — hats, 
which  they  now  especially  need  because  of  the  cutting  of  the 
queue;  foreign  barber  supplies,  such  as  safety  razors,  strops, 


172    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

soaps  and  other  shaving  accessories;  sweaters,  all  kinds  of 
dental  goods,  which  they  are  just  commencing  to  know;  ribbons 
for  women's  apparel  and  the  thousand  other  things  which  the 
reading  of  this  list  will  suggest. 

"Yes!"  says  the  American  manufacturer,  "I  am  commenc- 
ing to  realize  what  a  great  opportunity  there  is  over  in  China, 
but  how  am  I  to  go  at  it;  how  am  I  to  get  into  the  big  game 
of  getting  some  of  that  Chinese  money  without  taking  too 
large  a  risk?" 

"Kisk?"  I  would  say  to  him.  "There  is  no  more  risk  than 
right  here  at  home  if  you  go  at  it  the  right  way." 

"Well,  what  can  I  do?  The  only  information  we  have 
about  China  is  an  occasional  newspaper  or  magazine  article 
and  whatever  there  may  be  in  the  United  States  Consular  re- 
ports. To  send  a  man  over  there  to  investigate  is  a  rather 
expensive  undertaking  and  the  few  firms  of  agents  in  the 
Oriental  forwarding  business  of  course  cannot  be  supposed  to 
hand  out  information,  even  if  they  do  actually  have  any  knowl- 
edge I  may  want  of  the  trade  conditions." 

Yes!  That's  the  rub!  How  to  go  at  it,  for  the  American 
exporter  does  not  have  from  his  government  the  same  assist- 
ance in  trying  to  get  into  the  far  East  markets  as,  say,  the 
German,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  illustration: 

The  German  government  immediately  after  having  estab- 
lished themselves  in  Shantung  Province,  learned  that  the 
Chinese  farmers  were  poor  because  their  soil  was  all  worked 
out  and  fertilizers  insufficient.  So  they  commenced  to  import 
fertilizers  from  Germany,  notifying  all  manufacturers  of  such 
of  the  opportunity  and  practically  providing  a  market  for  the 
same  at  a  good  profit  to  the  exporters.  These  fertilizers  were 
sold  on  credit  by  German  money  lenders  who  obtained  in 
their  turn  a  large  and  well  secured  return  for  their  share 
in  the  whole  operation,  and  with  the  money  which  came  from 
the  very  first  crop,  which  of  course  was  a  bumper  one  on  account 


Hints  to  Merchants  and  Manufacturers        173 

of  the  fertilizing,  they  continued  their  loans  in  order  to  enable 
the  farmers  to  purchase  German  manufactured  agricultural 
machines,  by  this  method  giving  a  profit  under  the  greatest 
conditions  of  safety  to  three  different  classes  of  its  citizenship 
and  strengthening  itself  politically  and  commercially  by  the 
operation  of  the  fair  but  highly  rewarded  dealing. 

Against  such  a  large  advantage  as  this  our  government  offers 
practically  nothing,  and  our  merchants  for  information  are 
thrown  upon  the  calloused  consideration  of  "Hongs/'  which  as 
sales  agencies  are  already  so  busy  with  their  many  varieties  of 
representation,  that  they  have  but  little  time  or  inclination  to 
help  a  prospective  principal,  to  information.  What  the  United 
States  needs  is  an  efficient  corps  of  international  commercial  trav- 
elers, not  of  the  statistician  laboratory  sort  nor  of  the  over  bril- 
liant nor  yet  of  the  spread-eagle  embassadorial  kind,  but  merely 
hard  headed,  sensible  men  who  have  learned  from  experience  that 
selling  also  means  buying,  and  that  both  involve  the  most  in- 
tricate mental  operation  that  has  ever  puzzled  the  hoary  head  of 
mankind.  Take  for  example,  in  order  to  show  a  trade  mis- 
hap caused  by  lack  of  information,  the  American  importation 
of  ginseng,  which  is  used  by  the  Chinese  as  a  blood  purifier 
in  about  the  same  way  that  we  use  the  nostrums  of  patent 
medicines.  It  is  known  by  all  who  even  casually  know  any- 
thing about  Chinese  customs  that  a  thing  which  grows  wild  is 
considered  in  the  herb  list  of  medicines  to  be  especially 
efficacious.  The  ginseng  root,  when  grown  under  cultivation 
as  in  the  United  States,  must  bear  something  of  the  indication 
of  the  wild  uncultivated  plant  in  order  to  obtain  the  high 
price  which  that  particular  kind  of  "spring  medicine"  brings 
in  China.  Unaware  of  this  fact,  however,  for  years  American 
exporters  have  been  trying  to  cultivate  the  root  in  such  wise 
that  it  would  appear  large,  succulent  and  well  filled,  and  they 
succeeded  in  bringing  up  the  appearance  and  quality  of  the 
root  to  such  an  extent  that  finally  there  was  hardly  any  market 


174    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

at  all  for  the  product.  It  was  only  after  the  growers  of  ginseng 
had  suffered  considerable  losses  that  they  were  informed  that 
the  over-excellent  cultivation  of  the  plant  was  the  reason  why 
a  sale  at  a  good  price  could  not  be  obtained. 

Of  course  we  are  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  not  having  any 
direct  base  for  the  collecting  and  dissemination  of  commercial 
information — our  consular  reports  being  mostly  amateurish 
efforts — although  as  far  as  the  trade  of  Southern  China  is  con- 
cerned, the  nearness  of  the  Philippines  ought  in  a  large  measure 
to  eventually  help  us  in  the  international  competition  of  the 
trade  of  China. 

"But  what  method  shall  I  pursue  in  trying  to  sell  my 
goods  to  the  Chinese?"  asks  the  manufacturer.  "Will  I  have 
to  send  a  drummer  over  there  myself  or  can  I  make  the  at- 
tempt in  the  cheaper  way  by  trying  to  sell  by  catalogue?" 

My  advice  is  to  by  all  means  send  someone.  Selling  by 
catalogue  is  not  at  all  successful  among  the  Chinese.  It  is 
the  actual  sample  accompanied  by  a  personal  explanation  which 
gets  the  order. 

But  who  should  be  sent?  Where  can  the  proper  sort  of  a 
man  be  found? 

Ah !  That  is  the  difficulty  in  making  an  effort  to  get  a  part 
of  the  trade.  Business  has  been  so  good  at  home  that  it  is 
only  now  that  we  realize  that  it  may  not  always  continue. 
A  trade  representative  sent  to  China  should  know  enough  of 
the  Chin  Yin  or  Mandarin  Chinese  to  carry  on  a  usual  trade 
conversation.  This  accomplishment  will  put  him  immediately 
in  rapport  with  the  buyers  without  the  intervention  of  the  com- 
pradors. But  it  is  indeed  difficult  to  find  men  who  speak  both 
English  and  the  leading  Chinese  dialect.  They  are  for  the 
most  part  missionaries  or  Chinese.  A  Chinese  representative 
is  indeed  the  best  of  all,  even  better  than  one  of  our  own 
race,  for  he  can  sell  goods  more  easily  to  his  own  people  than 
can  the  American  representative.  But  where  can  you  find  such 


Five  storied  pagoda,  Canton. 


Hints  to  Merchants  and  Manufacturers         175 

a  Chinese  representative?  If  a  Chinese  has  enough  ability  to 
act  as  agent  for  you,  the  chances  are  that  he  can  make  much 
more  money  working  for  himself  than  for  you  and  you  would 
not  feel  inclined  to  pay  what  his  services  are  really  worth  to 
him  in  building  up  a  business  for  himself. 

The  only  solution  to  the  difficulty  is  to  create  the  profes- 
sion of  American  business  agents  in  China  and  assist  our  young 
men  to  qualify  for  that  position  by  learning  the  language.  I 
have  long  been  proposing  that  the  Mandarin  language  be  taught 
in  our  high  and  night  schools  as  an  optional  course.  In  mak- 
ing an  investigation  as  to  whether  or  not  there  had  been  any 
demand  for  such  teaching  among  the  leading  cities  of  the 
United  States,  I  may  cite  the  following  from  a  high  pub- 
lic school  official  as  indicative  of  the  result  of  my  inquiry. 

"Your  letter  in  regard  to  teaching  the  Chinese  language  in 
the  high  and  night  schools  of  this  city  has  been  received. 

"There  has  been  no  request  on  the  part  of  any  student  up 
to  the  present  time.  No  doubt  there  are  many  throughout  the 
country  who  would  find  this  a  valuable  thing,  but  until  some 
manifestation  is  made  for  this  instruction  it  cannot  of  course 
be  considered." 

I  am  confident  that  if  instruction  in  our  public  schools 
were  offered  in  Chinese  that  a  considerable  number  of  young 
Americans  would  undertake  the  study  with  the  idea  of  be- 
coming business  agents  in  China  for  American  merchants  and 
manufacturers. 

Such  agents  are  necessary  even  between  the  countries  of 
Europe  which  are  contiguous  to  each  other  and  the  occupa- 
tion is  at  times  extremely  lucrative.  The  Chinese  government 
would  be  glad,  I  am  sure,  to  accredit  competent  teachers  for 
such  purpose,  and  it  will  only  be  a  question  of  time  before 
such  instruction  will  be  had. 

But  the  American  exporter  can  hardly  afford  to  wait  for 
the  making  of  a  competent  American  business  agent;  he  must 

12 


176    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

find  one  himself.  But  little  can  be  done  in  a  permanent  and 
satisfactory  way  by  mere  correspondence  with  the  prospective 
Chinese  customer.  Then  there  is  the  vexatious  questions  of 
exchange,  freight,  delivery  and  above  all  the  perfect  satisfac- 
tion of  the  customer.  There  must  be  a  continued  effort  to 
please  the  antiquated  whim,  if  you  wish  to  so  call  it,  of  the 
Chinese.  For  example,  a  certain  American  manufacturer  sent 
a  number  of  large  consignments  of  his  goods  which  were  readily 
sold  at  a  large  profit.  Finally  his  agent  reported  to  him  that 
the  last  consignment  could  not  be  sold  because  the  paraffin 
wrapping  in  which  each  small  package  was  wrapped  had  in 
that  particular  instance  proved  to  be  insufficient  to  keep  the 
goods  fresh.  Instead  of  packing  his  stuff  in  tins  as  he  should 
have  done  as  advised  by  his  Chinese  agent,  the  manufacturer 
sent  out  another  very  fresh  consignment  wrapped  with  par- 
ticular pains  in  paraffin  but  with  the  result  that  the  agent 
could  not  dispose  of  it,  although  it  was  undoubtedly  as  fresh 
as  though  it  had  been  packed  in  tins.  The  Chinese  are  cautious, 
and  if  a  particular  brand  of  goods  is  not  exactly  as  represented 
and  always  proven  satisfactory,  it  will  be  boycotted  through- 
out an  entire  city  in  an  incredibly  short  time. 

A  word  should  be  said  here  in  regard  to  that  often  con- 
sidered subject  of  packing.  The  journey  to  Shanghai  from 
San  Francisco  means  about  forty  days'  knocking  and  banging 
about  of  the  piece  of  merchandise  which  you  hope  eventually 
will  bring  you  a  profit.  Nothing  should  be  shipped  that  can^ 
not  stand  a  tumble  the  height  of  a  man's  shoulder,  nor  should 
anything  be  packed  in  such  large  cases  as  not  to  be  easily 
handled  by  a  single  pair  of  arms.  Perhaps  your  goods  may 
find  their  way  over  mountain  paths  and  the  sunken  roads  of 
the  plains,  a  distance  of  hundreds  of  miles,  into  the  interior 
of  China  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  If  one  man  is 
to  carry  his  load  of  one  hundred  pounds,  then  it  must  be  in 
two  packages  so  that  he  can  swing  fifty  pounds  at  either  end 


Hints  to  Merchants  and  Manufacturers         177 

of  his  bamboo  pole.  If  two  coolies  are  to  carry  a  bundle  then 
it  must  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  weight,  which 
they  will  carry  swung  on  a  pole  between  them.  The  packages 
should  never  be  round  but  always  oblong  or  square,  since  the 
wheelbarrow  may  be  the  conveyance  upon  which  they  will  be 
carried. 

"But  what  about  their  laws?  Supposing  that  I  should  for- 
ward a  heavy  consignment  to  some  firm  of  which  I  had  never 
heard  except  through  my  agent  and  that  they  would  refuse 
to  pay  me?  Are  there  any  courts  which  would  give  me  re- 
dress ?" 

This  question  is  not  as  serious  in  China  as  with  us,  for 
the  annual  New  Year  accounting  makes  the  rating  of  any 
merchant  a  comparative  easy  matter  to  ascertain.  All  agents 
should,  of  course,  be  bonded,  and  if  there  is  any  crooked 
dealing  it  will  generally  be  traceable  to  the  incompetency  or 
rascality  of  the  agent  himself.  The  business  caution  which 
makes  up  a  part  of  any  success  of  course  should  be  employed 
here  as  elsewhere.  Yes !  The  Chinese  have  .law.  They  have 
their  lut  and  lai,  but  it  is  very  rarely  that  a  Chinese  merchant 
ever  has  recourse  to  the  law  on  a  civil  action,  for  the  Chinese 
are  perhaps  the  least  litigious  people  of  the  world. 

As  I  have  before  said,  the  only  way  to  sell  goods  in  China 
is  by  personal  solicitation  and  showing  of  samples.  Com- 
mercial travelers  of  all  nations  are  welcomed  by  the  Chinese 
merchants.  There  is  no  tax  against  them.  They  have  a  free- 
lance field  before  them  in  China  such  as  they  cannot  elsewhere 
ordinarily  find. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

TRADE  CHANCES  IN   CHINA  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA 

We  always  somehow  look  upon  South  America,  just  be- 
cause it  is  in  our  own  hemisphere  and  on  our  own  continent, 
as  being  nearer  to  us  than  China.  China  still  seems  to  us  to 
be  on  the  far-off  side  of  the  world.  But  Shanghai  really  is 
nearer  to  us  than  Buenos  Aires  in  point  of  time  distance,  and 
the  Chinese  port  is  as  cheaply,  comfortably  and  as  quickly 
reached  as  the  South  American  metropolis. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  derogate  by  comparison  one  or 
the  other  of  these  two  great  trade  opportunities.  We  ought 
to  be  actively  aggressive  in  trying  to  capture  them  both,  but 
if  we  don't  find  a  way  to  pay  for  the  guns,  ships  and  men 
which  will  be  necessary  to  hold  the  trade  once  that  we  have 
got  it,  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  give  up  all  trade  ambition 
at  once.  The  present  wars  in  Europe  are  being  waged  seventy- 
five  per  cent  for  trade  and  twenty-five  per  cent  for  patriotism. 
The  American  government  should  so  shape  its  policies  as  to 
convince  our  merchants  and  manufacturers  that  their  invest- 
ments in  South  America  and  China,  and  for  that  matter  every- 
where else,  will  be  protected  in  the  only  way  that  thus  far 
there  has  ever  been  any  protection  given,  namely,  by  a  suffi- 
cient army  and  navy.  We  cannot  get  around  this  inevitable 
prerequisite  of  world-wide  trade,  for  the  millennium  of  peace, 
much  as  it  is  to  be  desired,  is  still  a  long  way  off  when  we 
have  such  belligerent  neighbors  as  the  Japanese  who,  with  their 
crowding  population,  will  be  more  and  more  obliged  to  dispute 
our  trade  aggrandizement  in  the  Orient  and  South  America. 

But  taking  it  for  granted  that  America  will  adequately 
and  immediately  take  steps  to  protect  the  trade  of  its  citizens 
abroad  so  that  they  will  have  an  equal  chance  with  those  of 

178 


Chinese  and  South  American  Trade  Chances    179 

other  nations,  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  adapt  our  sys- 
tem of  trade  to  the  demands  of  the  new  fields.  In  China  as 
well  as  in  South  America  the  system  should  be  what  I  might 
call,  for  want  of  a  better  indication,  The  Colonization 
Method  of  Trade.  That  is  to  say  that  Americans  should 
take  up  their  residence  in  those  countries  in  representation  of 
the  trade  they  represent,  at  least  for  a  considerable  part  of 
their  lives,  learning  the  language,  conforming  with  the  cus- 
toms and  largely  living  and  feeling  the  life  of  the  natives  with 
whom  they  deal.  In  an  article  contributed  to  the  Merchants 
and  Manufacturers'  Weekly  (Chicago,  December  15,  1914),  I 
enlarged  upon  what  I  termed  the  Moorish  Method  of 
trade  prevailing  in  South  America  in  which  I  pointed  out 
the  great  disadvantage  prevailing  in  South  America  on  account 
of  the  long  credits  given.  This  disadvantage  does  not  exist  in 
China,  for  comparatively  speaking  the  Chinese  never  do  busi- 
ness on  the  capital  of  the  seller,  and  their  promptness  in  pay- 
ing their  indebtedness  would  compare  very  favorably  with  most 
European  countries.  The  Chinese  New  Year  liquidation  would 
be  a  splendid  institution  to  stiffen  up  the  credit  of  South 
America  could  it  ever  be  there  introduced.  Hence,  on  the  score 
of  credit,  we  must  award  the  advantage  to  China.  But  as 
regards  the  standard  of  values,  that  is  to  say — money — the 
South  Americans  have  the  advantage  over  the  Chinese  in  that 
their  currency,  even  though  frequently  depreciated,  is  more 
fixed  in  responding  to  trade  credits  than  the  overflexible  meas- 
ure of  value  taken  from  the  fluctuation  of  silver  bullion.  Of 
course  the  Chinese  gold  standard  will  in  time  eventualize  and 
even  now  the  uncertainty  of  trade  prices  can  be  overcome  by 
stipulating  the  payment  in  pounds  or  dollars. 

As  to  the  ultimate  gross  advantage  between  the  two  coun- 
tries there  is  of  course  no  dispute  as  to  the  greater  buying 
power  of  the  Chinese  over  the  republics  of  Central  and  South 
America.  The  Chinese  is  not  only  a  great  producer  but  like- 


180    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

wise  an  almost  prodigal  buyer.  As  I  have  before  said,  there 
is  no  luxury  which  even  the  commonest  coolie  does  not  think 
that  he  is  at  some  time  in  his  life  and  in  some  measure  entitled 
to  enjoy,  and  although  thrifty  he  will  not  undergo  privations 
when  he  has  money  to  spend.  Misers  are  extremely  rare  in 
China.  Now,  considering  the  individual  Chinese  with  his 
greater  producing  power  and  consuming  propensity  over  that 
of  our  neighboring  Latin  Americans  and  that  the  aggregate 
number  of  the  latter  is  small  in  comparison  with  the  former, 
Latin  trade  dwindles  in  importance,  for  the  Chinese  number  four 
hundred  millions  and  the  Latin  Americans  less  than  one-fourth 
of  that  number. 

The  lines  of  least  trade  resistance,  however,  seem  now 
popularly  to  run  for  a  time  toward  Latin  America.  There  is 
a  positive  advertising  boom  in  that  direction  which  will  prove 
of  great  advantage  to  our  trade.  As  I  have  before  indicated, 
South  America  not  only  seems  nearer  home  but  the  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  are  easy  languages  to  learn,  and  there  is  little 
difference  between  new  Latin  adaptation  of  European  life  and  that 
of  our  own.  And  then  those  Latin  American  countries  are 
new  countries,  republics  whose  history  has  in  part  been  identified 
with  ours,  and  even  the  negro,  who  makes  every  white  American 
feel  at  home  when  even  in  the  most  foreign  land,  is  likewise 
there  although  speaking  a  different  language.  Besides  there  is 
the  large  population  of  Germans,  home  born,  as  well  as  French 
and  Italians,  with  the  sympathetic  environment  that  the  Occi- 
dental does  not  so  easily  find  in  China.  And  then  more  than 
all  this  is  that  wonderful  gateway  of  the  Panama  leading 
down  to  our  sister  republics,  an  American  triumph  which  we 
are  too  apt  to  think  of  opening  only  down  to  the  west  coast 
of  the  American  continent,  when  really  it  is  a  gateway  to 
China  itself. 

Yes,  there  is  a  boom  on  now  all  down  along  the  Latin 
American  lines  soberly  considered  and  abetted  by  such  splendid 


Chinese  and  South  American  Trade  Chances    181 

organizations  as  the  Association  of  Commerce  and  the  Mer- 
chants and  Manufacturers'  Association  of  Chicago.  We  will  do 
much  there.  There  will  be  some  failures  but  greater  successes 
and  all  the  time  we  will  be  getting  ready  for  the  greater  trade 
which  lies  eastward.  And  in  passing  think  for  a  moment  of  the 
great  opportunities  which  South  America  herself  will  eventually 
have  in  the  great  Chinese  opportunity,  owing  to  her  propinquity 
by  direct  and  favorable  sea  routes  to  China's  shores.  One  of 
our  heaviest  competitors  for  Chinese  trade  along  certain  lines  of 
raw  products  will  eventually  be  Latin  America. 

But  if  we  intend  to  profit  by  the  European  war  to  obtain 
trade  advantage  in  China  and  South  America,  let  me  repeat 
that  it  must  be  done  with  the  feeling  that  the  American 
government  is  prepared  to  protect  that  trade.  For  what  the 
Germans,  the  English  and  French  have  lost  in  the  Latin 
American  and  the  far  eastern  commerce,  they  intend  to  some 
day  recoup  at  all  hazards.  The  only  excuse  for  war  is  to 
make  the  struggle  for  bread  easier  when  peace  shall  come. 
When  we  will  have  once  obtained  our  share  of  this  new  trade, 
will  we  be  prepared  to  protect  it? 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

EFFECT  OF  EUROPE'S   WAR 

War  of  course  is  of  benefit  to  no  nation,  but  the  result  of 
the  present  great  conflict  will  eventually  help  China  hold  its 
own  nationality — in  spite  of  Japanese  aggression — more  surely 
during  the  trying  period  of  its  formation,  for  the  European 
powers  are  now  too  busy  with  their  guns  elsewhere  to  think 
of  further  aggrandizement  and  Japan  will  have  to  settle  with 
them  ultimately.  The  real  menace  to  the  Chinese  in  the  present 
way  is  of  course  Japan,  whose  war  against  the  Germans  in 
Shantung  will  perhaps  result  in  so  firmly  entrenching  them 
there  as  to  make,  perhaps,  a  war  necessary  to  get  them  out. 
Japan's  policy  in  Korea  has  been  such  as  to  warrant  the  state- 
ment that  if  the  Japanese  do  get  a  footing  in  Shantung  there' 
will  be  no  open-door  policy.  It  seems,  however,  that  there 
is  much  reason  to  believe  that  the  present  war  will  determine 
the  European  powers  to  support  America  in  her  contention 
that  China  should  be  an  open  country  for  the  trade  of  the 
world,  and  that  any  attempt  at  its  partition  should  be  resisted 
by  the  world  powers.  But  what  about  Japan  whose  ambitions 
nationally  will  not  be  easily  prescribed?  They  are  always 
prepared  for  war  and  their  power  in  the  Orient  in  their  pre- 
paredness to  enforce  their  claims  for  trade  growth  in  China 
will  not  be  immediately  or  easily  overcome. 

But  the  greatest  advantage  of  the  present  great  European 
war  is  that  China  is  now  being  thrown  on  her  own  financial 
resources,  and  is  escaping  the  intrigue  of  the  bankers  of  the 
quintuple  powers.  I  am  informed  by  those  who  know  that  a 
domestic  loan  is  now  in  progress  which  will  put  China  on  a 
more  independent  footing  than  she  has  ever  been  under  the 
new  regime. 

182 


Effect  of  Europe's  War 183 

This  advantage  is  tremendous  and  relieves  China  from 
the  fear  of  a  possible  economic  slavery  to  the  sextuple  group, 
for  it  will  be  remembered  that  six  leading  powers  among 
which,  to  the  credit  of  Americans,  our  own  country  was 
not  numbered,  practically  forced  China  to  consider  them 
as  its  national  usurers,  delivering  as  a  pawn  the  best  part  of 
China's  trade.  In  consideration  of  money  advanced  the  sextuple 
group  exacted  that  China  become  a  customer  for  certain  manu- 
factured articles  in  the  way  of  public  utility  equipment,  the 
money  for  the  same  practically  being  deducted  at  extortionate 
profits  from  the  amount  of  the  loan  which  in  its  turn  drew 
an  extortionate  interest,  considering  the  first  discount  which  the 
powers  required  to  be  made  in  their  favor.  It  was  a  case  of 
rapacious  international  pawnbrokers  taking  away  from  Chinese 
John  the  tools  which  he  needed  for  his  own  daily  labor  and 
the  credit  which  he  had  with  the  butcher  and  baker. 

The  great  war  will  moreover  give  Christian  Occidental 
advance  such  a  check  that  the  Chinese  will  industrially  have 
the  greatest  incentives  to  supply  themselves  with  much  of  that 
which  the  warring  nations,  because  of  the  demoralization  of  the 
war,  cannot  supply.  More  than  that,  since  every  great  war 
is  followed  by  a  correspondingly  long  period  of  recuperative 
peace,  China  will  be  unmolested  by  the  exhausted  forces  of 
Europe.  Her  opportunities  in  the  South  American  trade  are 
very  great  as  well  as  in  South  Africa,  and  the  other  fields  of 
trade  now  for  the  time  being  practically  abandoned  by  the 
European  people. 

To  anyone  who  has  not  been  familiar  with  the  rapid  Ger- 
manization  which  has  been  going  on  in  Shantung,  the  fall  of 
Tsingtao  does  not  have  the  large  significance  which  it  really 
possesses.  When  Governor  Meyer-Waldeck  from  the  shell- 
shattered  midst  of  his  almost  entirely  destroyed  defenses,  hoisted 
the  white  flags  on  the  forts,  the  capitulation  meant  a  cessation 
of  all  commercial  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Germans  as  well 


184   Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

as  armed  belligerency.  The  prisoners,  numbering  from  six  to 
eight  thousand  Germans,  included  as  reservists  practically  every 
German  in  China.  They  will  not  be  allowed  to  return  to  their 
businesses,  of  course,  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and 
even  if  they  were  allowed  to  do  so  their  exporting  and  im- 
porting and  general  trading  could  not  continue  since  the  Jap- 
anese ships  now  released  from  their  stations  during  the  bombard- 
ment will,  together  with  the  English,  thoroughly  comb  the  sea 
to  prevent  any  German  commerce  in  China. 

During  the  rest  of  the  war  Tsingtao  will  be  placed  under 
a  military  governorship  which  the  British  will  leave  almost 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  Japanese,  since  the  disturbed 
condition  in  her  colonies  will  not  allow  them  to  take  much 
part  in  the  control  of  this  important  strategic  point.  The 
Japanese  in  spite  of  Chinese  protest  will  control  the  railroad 
to  Tsinanfu  and  will  attempt  to  step  into  the  shoes  of  the 
Germans  in  any  way  which  will  seem  profitable  to  them.  But 
the  Chinese  will  tacitly  declare  a  boycott  and  if  they  have  an 
opportunity  to  trade  with  others,  particularly  the  Americans, 
will  indeed  do  so.  This  gives  American  merchants  and 
manufacturers  a  very  great  opportunity  in  the  great  rich 
Province  of  Shantung  which  is  directly  and  immediately  access- 
ible and  in  which  at  the  present  time  there  will  be  an  abundance 
of  trade  along  the  lines  of  the  least  resistance. 

I  might  here  say  that  the  defense  in  Tsingtao  will  always 
be  a  great  feather  in  the  German  helmet  in  China.  The  order 
commanding  the  German  reserves  to  report  at  Tsingtao  was 
promptly  obeyed,  and  from  all  parts  of  China,  and  particularly 
Shantung,  the  reservists  were  pointed  out  as  they  went  on 
their  journey  as  men  marked  for  death  because  the  defense 
of  the  little  promontory  was,  of  course,  conceded  by  all  to  be 
eventually  futile.  Even  the  Chinese  coolies  expressed  admira- 
tion at  this  march  to  death,  as  it  was  then  considered,  and  the 
estimate  of  the  white  race  rose  very  considerably  among  all 


Effect  of  Europe's  War 185 

those  who  were  informed  of  the  defense,  this  being  the  first 
instance  of  a  practical  demonstration  of  Occidental  courage  in 
the  dramatic  setting  of  men  entrenched  to  fight  to  death  in 
war  action  where  the  Chinese  themselves  were  not  belligerently 
involved. 

Americans,  in  spite  of  the  great  political  prestige  now 
obtained  by  the  Japanese,  can  easily  compete  with  them  because 
of  the  poor  quality  of  most  of  their  manufactures.  It  will 
be  a  long  time  before  the  Japanese  will  measure  up  to  the 
manufacturing  standard  exacted  by  the  discriminating  Chinese. 

Of  course  the  competition  will  be  keen,  for  the  Japanese 
have  paid  with  their  blood  for  Tsingtao  and  what  they  con- 
sider goes  with  it — the  consequent  trading  rights  in  Shantung. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

PREPARATION   FOR  CHINESE   TRADE 

During  my  lecture  work  I  have  had  young  men  come  to 
me  and  make  inquiries  in  regard  to  chances  for  success  in  the 
Chinese  trade. 

"I  would  like  to  go  but  cannot  undertake  the  long  journey 
without  some  assurance  that  I  could  obtain  employment  when 
I  got  there.  Is  there  any  way  that  I  can  prepare  myself  here 
for  the  work  over  there?" 

It  is  unfortunate  that  there  is  at  the  present  time  absolutely 
no  way  of  learning  the  Mandarin  language  in  America  except 
at  great  expense.  I  have  tried  to  have  introduced  the  teach- 
ing of  Chin  Yin  in  a  night  course  in  the  public  schools,  as  I 
have  before  indicated,  and  in  time  hope  that  this  effort  will 
succeed  not  only  in  having  the  language  taught  in  the  public 
schools  but  to  have  accredited  teachers  certified  for  such  pur- 
poses. Most  young  men  lose  their  opportunities  in  China  by 
not  learning  Mandarin.  As  soon  as  they  get  to  China  they 
become  so  engrossed  in  their  routine  work  that  they  find  no 
time  for  study,  with  the  result  that,  excepting  the  missionaries, 
there  are  few  English  speaking  people  who  speak  the  language. 

As  far  as  the  customs  go  it  is  likewise  very  difficult  to 
obtain  any  idea  of  what  the  Chinese  really  are  from  studying 
them  here  in  America.  But  daily  our  knowledge  of  the  Chinese 
is  extending  through  the  many  excellent  books  which  are  an- 
nually published  and  newspapers  are  more  and  more  making 
use  of  Chinese  material  which  they  formerly  did  not  care  for. 
There  is  daily  a  great  demand  for  enlightenment  on  all  Chinese 
subjects,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  demand  is  supplied. 
Whereas  a  comparatively  few  years  ago  there  were  few  news- 
papers and  books,  now  there  are  many,  together  with  a  Chinese 

186 


Preparation  for  Chinese  Trade  187 

Year  Book  of  very  reliable  information  of  China's  advance  from 
month  to  month. 

But  in  every  American  college  there  should  be  an  optional 
course  in  the  Chinese  language,  history  and  classics  and  where 
there  are  Chinese  attending  the  college  to  assist,  Chinese  culture 
clubs  should  be  formed. 

There  is  frequently  a  complaint  heard  that  the  Chinese  are 
so  secretive  that  they  do  not  readily  lend  themselves  in  giving 
foreigners  information  upon  any  given  subject.  I  myself  have 
not  found  that  to  be  the  case,  and  nearly  all  that  I  know  of 
China  I  have  had  first  hand  from  the  Chinese. 

I  once  knew  an  American  traveling  salesman  who  had  made 
a  great  record  in  selling  goods  in  all  parts  of  China,  although 
he  knew  nothing  of  the  language  and  not  much  of  the  customs. 
I  asked  him  the  reason  of  -his  remarkable  success  and  he 
replied : 

"Years  ago  a  Japanese,  learning  that  I  was  about  to  go 
to  China,  a  country  which  I  did  not  then  know,  came  to  me 
with  a  gold  ring — a  simple  heavy  band  upon  which  appeared 
two  characters.  He  told  me  that  whenever  I  came  to  a  Chinese 
village  that  the  first  man  who  would  come  to  meet  me  would 
be  the  head  man  of  that  village,  and  that  all  I  would  have  to 
do  would  be  to  show  him  the  ring  and  that  such  an  introduc- 
tion to  him,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  did  not  know  the  lan- 
guage, would  be  sufficient.  I  took  the  ring  with  some  mis- 
givings of  its  value,  not  even  bothering  about  a  further  ex- 
planation of  it.  But  it  indeed  was  a  lucky  ring,  for  everywhere 
I  went  it  was  an  open  sesame  to  me.  I  was  received  cordially 
and  with  every  mark  of  kindness,  no  matter  how  remote  the 
village  was  in  which  I  found  myself. 

"Years  after  I  had  left  China  I  happened  to  be  in  a  Chinese 
restaurant  near  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  a  Chinese  stu- 
dent, seeing  the  ring,  inquired  about  it.  I  told  him  of  the  suc- 
cess I  had  had  with  it.  The  student  then  explained  it  to  me. 


188     Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

The  first  character  represented  my  name.  The  second  character 
meant  "a  dependable  man  seeking  information." 

The  story  illustrates  the  point  that  when  a  dependable  man 
seeking  information  goes  about  in  China  he  will  have  a  ready 
answer  to  all  of  his  questions.  Approach  a  Chinese  in  any  of 
the  eighteen  provinces,  give  him  a  formal  look  with  the  feel- 
ing in  your  own  heart  that  you  are  willing  to  do  him  a  friendly 
turn  if  you  can;  he  will  read  your  thought  and  if  your  ques- 
tioning is  not  too  abrupt  and  impertinent,  the  chances  are  that 
he  will  give  you  what  information  you  are  seeking  as  readily 
as  that  most  kind  and  cordial  of  all  informants — the  old,  down- 
East  Yankee  farmer. 

The  number  of  Chinese  in  our  American  colleges  is  yearly 
increasing.  If  the  young  American,  thinking  of  going  to  China 
for  his  fortune,  is  fortunate  in  obtaining  the  real  friendship 
of  even  one  among  these,  a  great  deal  of  the  mystery  of  veiled 
Cathay  will  be  brushed  aside.  Eeturned  missionaries  are  like- 
wise very  excellent  and  thoroughly  reliable  informants.  But 
beyond  these  and  what  you  get  from  books,  magazine  and 
newspaper  articles,  your  preparatory  education  in  America  for 
a  venture  of  fortune-seeking  in  China  is  prescribed  until  our 
school  boards  awaken  to  the  necessity  of  providing  an  oppor- 
tunity for  you  in  the  secondary  schools. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI 

THE  CHINA  OF  TOMORROW 

It  seems  strange  to  think  that  eventually  the  center  of 
the  whole  world's  civilization  may  be  slowly  turned  and  settled 
in  China.  Europe  will  be  to  them  the  land  of  ancient  classic 
standards;  America,  a  colossus  of  modern  caste;  but  China 
itself  will  make  up  a  new  nation  whose  eventual  style  of  civiliza- 
tion may  culminate  all. 

Will  they  be  a  domineering  race?  Will  they  control  the 
whole  world  by  the  very  momentum  of  their  progress?  Will 
there  be  a  Chinese  militarism  on  land  and  Chinese  navalism 
on  the  sea  to  menace  the  rights  of  every  other  nation? 

Much  will  depend  upon  the  present  treatment  of  them  in 
these  days  of  national  formation.  As  we  judge  them,  so  will 
they  judge  us.  National  policies  settle  quickly  into  history 
and  mould  the  humor  of  a  whole  people.  Of  course  there  is 
no  American  but  who  realizes  the  justice  of  our  exclusion  laws 
from  our  standpoint,  but  they  should  not  be  as  drastic  as  they 
are  and  the  exception  to  the  applications  of  the  law  ought  to 
be  more  numerous.  Eventually  they  will  have  to  be  abolished, 
for  there  is  not  a  strong  enough  array  of  guns  and  men  yet 
assembled  that  can  enforce  such  a  law  against  the  will  of 
China  herself  when  once  ready  to  act.  If  anything  can  be 
calculated  to  turn  peaceful  China  into  a  warring  China,  it  will 
be  the  nagging,  irritating  effect  of  discriminating  legislation. 
Even  Australia,  as  favorably  isolated  as  it  is,  will  have  to 
succumb  to  the  demands  of  the  great  new  race. 

Great  new  race!  The  Chinese.  Are  they  entitled  to  be  so 
called?  Will  they  really  so  use  their  national  coherence  as  to 
make  their  eventual  tremendous  racial  force  an  influence  for 
good?  Will  the  conflicting  politics,  south  and  north  of  the 
Yangtse,  continue  to  be  a  menace  to  Chinese  people  and  leave 

189 


190    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

a  scar  on  new  China  that  she  will  have  to  carry  through  life 
like  the  stroke  of  an  ax  split  down  the  side  of  a  sapling,  or 
will  she  grow  up  beautiful  and  unmarked  by  the  ruthlessness 
of  civil  warfare?  When  we  think  of  our  own  slow  political 
development,  we  will  better  be  able  to  estimate  what  the  Chinese 
have  done.  Even  driving  out  the  Manchus  could  have  been 
called  a  swift  triumph  had  it  taken  a  whole  generation  rather 
than  half  a  decade. 

And  when  their  government  is  built  out  into  the  com- 
plete structure,  how  rapid  will  be  their  advancement?  How 
quickly  the  wealth  will  be  taken  up  from  its  long  hidden 
sources  to  bring  China  up  to  affluence.  The  fertile  basins  slop- 
ing eastward  to  the  Pacific  will  pour  out  their  riches — pour 
them  out — on  eastward  in  the  very  momentum  of  their  rich 
harvests  until  we  in  America  and  on  beyond  in  Europe  all 
feel  the  benefit  of  this  new  development  of  humanity's  for- 
tune. It  will  be  a  land  of  great  and  beautiful  cities,  the  culture 
of  whose  inhabitants  shall  be  crystallized  from  an  industry  and 
thrift  such  as  the  world  has  not  elsewhere  known.  Inventive 
genius  that  has  never  yet  had  full  play  will  contribute  a  princely 
share  to  the  world's  treasure  of  arts  and  sciences. 

Yes,  the  imagination  may  run  riot  in  a  mad  effort  to  ex- 
aggerate the  grandeur  of  that  great  China  of  the  future,  and 
even  then  not  paint  out  the  full  picture  of  its  glory  and  won- 
der. And  while  our  fancy  plunges  onward  over  the  tremendous 
range  of  China's  possibilities,  we  hear  the  thunder  of  the 
marching  armies  of  Christian  peoples  engaged  in  a  terrible  and 
useless  war  which  almost  proves  our  civilization's  failure.  And 
then  we  turn  and  look  toward  China,  the  land  of  a  thousand 
years  of  calm.  Yes,  perhaps  there,  when  the  rapprochement 
of  the  world's  races  is  accomplished,  then  perhaps  in  that  newer 
civilization  with  its  traditions  of  peace  may  we  not  hope  to 
find  the  magic  key  which  will  open  wide  the  gateway  of  uni- 
versal peace? 


China's  brightest  hope. 
Note  the  changing  effect  of  European  dress. 


CHAPTEE  XXVII 

GENERAL    HWANG    HSING,    PATRIOT 

Down  the  marble  corridor  of  a  modern  American  hotel  a 
powerfully  built  man  strides  with  a  military  step,  his  eyes  keen 
and  alert,  looking  out  kindly  from  a  face  whose  every  expres- 
sion is  of  strength  and  purpose.  People  pause  to  look  at  him 
a  second  time,  for  his  very  personality  would  distinguish  him 
among  men  of  any  nation. 

"General  Hwang  Hsing,  the  George  Washington  of  China," 
whispers  someone  and  again  all  eyes  are  turned  toward  him. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  this  really  great  man  in  America? 
The  answer  will  be  better  found  in  the  following  letter  from 
him: 

Dear  Sir: — The  commercial  and  friendly  relations  of  the 
American  Republic  with  China  have  been  within  late  years 
further  cemented  by  the  establishment  of  the  Chinese  Republic 
and  the  two  countries  and  their  people  are  now  bound  by  close 
ties  of  similar  aims  and  aspirations  that  make  the  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  actual  conditions  in  the  Orient  of  vital  im- 
portance to  all  good  wishers  of  the  two  peoples. 

And  as  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  American  public 
to  obtain  but  a  hazy  and  distorted  conception  of  the  great 
transforming  scenes  which  are  convulsing  China,  and  as 
American  capitalists  are  unwittingly  led  into  most  probable 
complications  with  our  country  which  may  jeopardize  the  very 
cordial  and  friendly  relations  of  the  two  countries,  I  take  the 
liberty  to  place  before  you,  a  representative  of  this  great  people, 
some  salient  facts  which  may  assist  in  bringing  about  a  better 
understanding. 

Even  the  partisans  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  cannot  but  admit  that 
he  is  ruling  the  country  by  military  despotism;  but  they  will 
attempt  to  excuse  him  by  trying  to  persuade  the  world  that 
the  Chinese  are  not  fit  for  self-rule;  and  they  will  further 

!" 


192    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

make  the  plausible  statement  that  the  Nationalist  party  or 
Democratic  party  in  China  is  expecting  too  rapid  progress 
from  Yuan  in  a  time  when  the  country  is  only  recuperating 
from  the  shock  of  transformation. 

Undoubtedly  to  one  of  another  country  who  has  not  had 
the  opportunity  to  fathom  the  political  affairs  of  China,  it  may 
only  seem  logical  to  conclude  that  the  necessity  of  the  occasion 
and  patience  with  the  tardy  progress  of  Yuan's  administration 
are  only  reasonable. 

As  to  the  exacting  attitude  of  the  Nationalist  party  for  the 
rapidity  of  progress,  it  is  only  just  for  me  to  state  that  we  are 
not  so  unreasonable  as  the  partisans  of  Yuan  would  make  us 
appear. 

For  the  purpose  of  giving  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  every  scope,  I  and 
my  compatriots  resigned  every  important  position  throughout 
the  country,  but  his  insatiable  ambition  compelled  him  to  force 
on  the  liberty-loving  South  the  second  revolution  so  that  he 
could  carry  out  an  open  and  complete  extermination  of  democ- 
racy throughout  China. 

Our  Chinese  people  are  rebellious  and  disheartened,  not 
by  the  slowness  of  progress  made,  but  by  Yuan  Shih-K'ai's  dia- 
metrical policy  to  not  only  a  democratic  but  to  even  a  civilized 
government. 

There  could  not  have  been  a  shadow  of  an  excuse  for  Yuan 
to  sacrifice  the  sacredness  of  life  for  the  advancement  of  selfish 
ambitions  and  resort  to  underhanded  murders  and  assassina- 
tions. 

When  Yuan's  squanderings  and  his  useless  employment  of 
advisers,  from  whom  no  advice  is  ever  taken  that  does  not 
promote  his  unholy  ambition  for  personal  power,  and  his  reck- 
less expenditures  for  bribery  and  other  innumerable  avenues 
of  waste  and  extravagance  are  all  taken  into  consideration,  there 
can  be  no  pretext  from  want  of  funds  which  could  excuse  Yuan 
from  suspending  the  greater  number  of  the  schools  and  colleges 
that  were  intrusted  to  him  to  support  and  foster;  nor  can  any 
hypothesis  be  advanced  to  absolve  him  of  having  the 
manifest  intention  of  keeping  the  Chinese  in  ignorance  to 
facilitate  his  usurpation  of  power  and  his  despotism. 

Again,  how  can  his  partisans  reconcile  the  fact  that  Yuan 
Shih-K'ai  has  not  only  resurrected  all  the  titles,  ranks  and  nobil- 
ities of  the  effete  Manchus,  but  has  been  prolific  in  inventing 


General  Hwang  Hsing,  Patriot  193 

outlandish  titles  and  positions  that  are  not  only  inconsistent 
but  incompatible  with  democracy?  It  is  needless  to  encumber 
this  exposition  with  more  of  Yuan's  innumerable  acts  to  show 
that  it  is  not  the  slowness  of  progress  that  is  our  lament,  but 
it  is  the  rapidity  with  which  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  is  moving  in  over- 
throwing everything  that  a  free,  liberty-loving  people  most 
cherished.  And  if  it  was  not  for  the  general  sympathy  and 
moral  support  of  your  great  nation,  there  is  now  nothing  to 
prevent  our  dictator  from  proclaiming  himself  the  Emperor  of 
China. 

It  is  true  that  the  failure  to  secure  an  American  loan  will 
tie  up  the  hands  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai  and  possibly  bankruptcy  may 
even  stare  China  in  the  face  under  his  ruinous  policy;  and  no 
doubt  Yuan  and  his  partisans  will  work  upon  the  warm  sym- 
pathies of  Americans  with  such  logic. 

Craving  that  you,  as  a  representative  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  will  give  the  American  loan  your  careful  con- 
sideration and  that  you  will  exert  your  potent  influence  to  pre- 
vent the  consummation  of  such  a  disaster,  I  am, 
Yours  most  faithfully, 

HWANG  HSING. 

When  all  is  said  and  written  Hwang  Hsing  will  appear  in 
the  annals  of  Chinese  history  as  the  great  practical  motive  power 
which  made  Chinese  liberation  from  Manchu  rule  an  actuality. 
Hwang  Hsing  was  the  art,  Sun  Yat  Sen  was  the  science  in  that 
great  accomplishment.  Hwang  Hsing,  Chinese  in  every  senti- 
ment of  soul  and  spiritual  being;  Sun  Yat  Sen,  the  cosmopoli- 
tan who  measured  up  the  deficiencies  of  the  overripened  Chinese 
civilization  by  the  self -experienced  standards  of  the  democratic 
Occident.  The  two  have  well  been  called  "The  man  of  action," 
and  "The  man  of  ideals." 

To  call  Hwang  Hsing  the  George  Washington  of  China 
hardly  expresses  it.  He  is  rather  a  political  Columbus  who, 
urging  his  incredulous  followers  over  unknown  seas  of  civic 
turbulence,  finally  discovered  for  them  the  real  state  of  liberty. 

A  strong  man  is  always  known  by  the  many  attempts  of  the 


194    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

envious  to  disparage  him.  An  insignificant  English  accidental 
magazine  contributor  involuntarily  and  unwittingly  paid  Gen- 
eral Hwang  Hsing  a  compliment  by  calling  him,  "The  Yellow 
General."  Since  yellow,  more  than  any  other  color,  can  be  called 
the  color  of  the  Chinese,  General  Hwang  Hsing  is  indeed  com- 
plimented by  being  designated  by  that  national  symbol.  I  my- 
self would  rather  call  him  the  "Iron  General,"  for  no  man  has 
ever  more  successfully  and  under  more  desperate  odds  showed 
himself  to  be  a  true  and  unyielding  leader. 

General  Hwang  Hsing  has  proven  himself  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  strategists  of  modern  times,  and  will  be,  if  Providence 
should  shape  the  emergency  of  a  Chinese  foreign  war,  one  of  the 
saviors  as  well  as  one  of  the  liberators  of  his  country. 

This  remarkable  leader  has  been  called  an  extremist  by  one 
author  merely  because  he  has  opposed  and  still  opposes  all  need- 
less foreign  loans.  Can  anyone  be  too  extreme  in  the  patriotism 
of  the  desire  to  see  his*  country  as  free  from  foreign  con- 
trol as  possible?  Herein  lies  the  difference  between  Yuan  and 
Hwang;  Yuan  would  betray  his  country  for  a  foreign  mess  of 
pottage,  whereas  Hwang  would  conserve  the  interest  of  China 
as  indeed  every  patriotic  American  in  our  legislative  halls  would 
try  to  conserve  the  interests  of  America.  Is  not  Hwang  particu- 
larly justified  in  his  resolute  defense  of  Chinese  interest  against 
the  disastrous  control  of  European  finance  when  he  reflects  upon 
its  results  in  Persia  and  Egypt? 

To  him  who  knows  anything  about  Chinese  resourcefulness, 
the  proposition  of  General  Hwang  Hsing  to  make  a  citizens'  con- 
tribution fund  and  an  issue  of  paper  currency  a  substitute  for 
foreign  loans,  appears  reasonable.  Tinder  a  de  facto  Republic 
led  by  such  men  as  General  Hwang  Hsing  and  Doctor  Sun  Yet 
Sen,  such  a  proposition  in  ordinary  times  would  be  practicable 
in  China  as  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 

And  what  is  this  story  of  the  life  of  this  truly  great  man? 
It  is  always  hard  to  get  details  concerning  the  growth  into  great- 


General  Hwang  Using,  Patriot  195 

ness  of  Chinese  leaders.  Political  propaganda  through  biograph- 
ical sketches  and  laudatory  commendation  in  speech  and  print 
have  not  yet  become  the  fashion  among  the  Chinese.  Compared 
with  the  history  of  other  races  we  know  but  little  of  the  gener- 
alities and  almost  nothing  of  the  intimate  particularities  of  the 
Chinese  great. 

In  a  conversation  recently  with  General  Hwang  I  tried  to 
bring  out  from  him  some  stories  of  himself;  something  that 
would  serve  as  a  text  to  the  sermons  which  posterity  will  here- 
after preach  upon  his  life's  work.  In  vain  I  tried  to  bring  him 
out.  His  answers  evading  reference  to  himself,  all  involved  the 
happiness  of  his  people,  of  which  he  considered  himself  as  just 
one  among  the  four  hundred  million. 

"It  is  for  China,  for  China's  good,"  he  would  remark,  in 
answer  to  the  wherefore  of  some  inquiry,  without  even  once 
making  use  of  the  personal  "I."  How  wonderful  this  submerg- 
ence of  self  into  the  great  cause  for  which  he  has  continually 
risked  his  life.  Compare  if  you  will  such  attitude  with  that  of 
Yuan  airing  continually  in  official  edict  his  own  personal  au- 
thority and  his  power  to  punish.  Or  compare  him  with  Yuan's 
mentor,  Li  Hung  Chang,  the  cunning  master  of  backstairs  graft, 
from  whom  Yuan  learned  his  first  lessons  in  trickery  and 
rascality. 

No,  General  Hwang  is  not  of  the  self -laudatory  type  of  leader, 
and  thereby  his  cause  becomes  greater.  Belonging  to  a  wealthy 
family  he  preferred  to  accept  the  sacrifices  as  a  worker  for  free 
China  rather  than  remain  in  the  lap  of  luxury.  Even  from  his 
childhood  on  he  dedicated  his  life  to  China's  liberation.  He  was 
only  twenty-five  when  he  became  a  part  of  the  revolution  started 
by  Tan  Tsui-Chan  and  narrowly  escaping  death  made  his  way 
to  Japan,  where  by  reason  of  his  high  character,  his  scholarly 
attainments  and  his  soldierly  leadership,  he  became  the  natural 
guide  and  teacher  among  the  Chinese  studying  in  Japan  and 
the  close  adviser  of  the  reform  movement  at  home.  As  the 


196     Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

founder  alone  of  the  Hua  Hsin  Hui  he  would  go  down  among 
the  great  in  the  history  of  China's  liberation. 

When  you  look  at  this  master  leader  you  come  immediately 
under  the  spell  of  his  striking  personality.  Broad  of  forehead 
and  shoulders,  strong  featured,  yet  kindly-eyed,  every  resonance 
of  his  deep,  low,  resolute  voice  means  an  indomitable  courage 
springing  from  a  nature  which  may  fall  for  a  moment,  but  never 
fail  or  falter  in  its  inward  purpose. 

At  the  present  time  General  Hwang  is  an  exile  from  his 
beloved  land,  driven  out  by  Yuan  the  Red.  That  he  is  welcome 
in  this  land  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  Yuan's  attempt 
through  the  American  State  Department  to  prevent  his  entry 
at  San  Francisco  with  Lin  Sun,  the  present  president  of  the 
Chinese  Nationalist  League  of  America,  he  was  admitted  freely 
in  July,  1914,  and  Yuan's  consular  representative's  audacity  in 
petitioning  United  States  authorities  for  the  arrest  of  General 
Hwang,  Lin  Sun  and  other  Chinese  leaders,  alleging  that  the 
Chinese  Nationalist  League  of  America  was  preparing  for  a 
military  expedition  against  Yuan  from  America,  came  to 
naught. 

Let  us  hope  that  General  Hwang's  exile  will  not  be  long,  and 
that  he  may  soon  return  to  China  where  the  great  cause  is  still 
waiting  for  him ;  waiting  for  its  complete  fulfillment  at  his  hands 
uplifted  by  his  ardent  following  and  directed  by  the  genius  of 
Sun  Yat  Sen. 

And  in  the  meantime  the  Chinese  Nationalist  Society  is  grow- 
ing— growing  daily  greater  and  more  powerful  that  it  may  serve 
that  cause — the  great  cause  of  free  China. 


CHAPTEE  XXVIII 

YUAN  THE  RED 

When  the  final  history  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai's  administration  is 
impartially  written,  the  world  will  shudder,  for  there  has  never 
heen  a  leader  who  has  had  a  greater  genius  for  the  invention  of 
evil. 

For  will  history  ever  give  such  an  example  of  a  man  who, 
having  opportunities  to  do  good,  ruthlessly  and  viciously  betrayed 
the  interest  of  his  country. 

And  now  he  has  already  squandered  the  loot  of  the  quintuple 
loan,  and  with  eyes  of  avarice  is  surveying  the  rich  money  mar- 
kets  of  America  in  the  desire  to  replenish  his  coffers  to  continue 
his  despotic  control  of  unfortunate  China. 

As  has  been  noted  in  the  previous  letter  of  General  Hwang 
Hsing  "the  failure  to  secure  an  American  loan  will  tie  up  the 
hands  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai."  Even  more  than  this,  it  may  be  said 
that  by  tying  up  the  hands  of  Yuan  Shih-K'ai,  China  will  be 
eventually  released  from  the  misgovernment  of  this  despot. 

The  two  emissaries  sent  to  America  to  attempt  to  make  the 
loan  have  been  recalled.  Everywhere  in  the  United  States 
their  insidious  efforts  met  with  no  success.  But  be  that  as  it 
may,  Yuan  will  undoubtedly  still  continue  in  his  desperate  at- 
tempt to  obtain  American  dollars  to  spill  the  blood  of  patriots 
and  advance  his  own  selfish  interests.  For  Yuan  the  Eed  sees 
the  days  of  his  reckoning  coming  if  he  cannot  obtain  an  American 
subsidy.  The  quintuple  group  is  so  involved  in  war  as  to  be 
entirely  unable  to  advance  him  further  amounts,  no  matter  what 
large  and  tempting  interest  rates  and  discounts  may  be  promised. 
Japan,  by  her  militarism,  is  likewise  unable  to  make  the  foreign 
loan,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  Japanese  with  their  peculiar 
methods  would  ever  advance  money  when  they  have  seen  in  their 

197 


198    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

recent  demands  on  Peking  that  they  can  more  easily  accomplish 
their  plans  at  the  point  of  a  gun.  Soldiers  are  today  cheaper 
than  dollars  in  Japan. 

Therefore  it  is  for  the  American  people  to  realize  that  Ameri- 
can interest  in  China  demands  the  removal  of  Yuan  and  in  no- 
wise can  this  result  be  more  easily  obtained  than  by  the  blank 
refusal  to  advance  him  any  money  for  his  own  grasping  ends. 

The  only  favorable  thing  that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  Yuan 
is  that  he  is  sometimes  strong.  But  strong  in  what  way?  Not 
in  the  impulses  of  patriotism,  for  the  tyrant  never  loves  his  coun- 
try, but  strong  alone  in  his  own  selfish  and  far  reaching  ambition 
which  makes  all  else  subservient  to  his  own  ends  and  aims. 

But  Yuan's  reign  of  terror  is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  great 
Chinese  people  will  demand  their  accounting ;  and  once  released 
of  his  despotism,  China,  unfettered  and  untrammeled,  will  lift 
Tip  its  giant  form  and  stand  with  brow  held  high  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth. 

Compared  with  the  histories  of  other  countries,  there  is  little 
in  Chinese  annals  of  the  direful  effects  of  despotism.  But  there 
will  be  some  very  dark  pages  as  a  record  of  the  contemporaneous 
period  of  China's  awakening;  and  through  them  all  will  appear 
a  name  in  crimson, — crimson  with  the  blood  of  patriots, — and 
the  name  will  be  that  of  Yuan,  the  Red. 

Yuan  has  done  everything  to  hinder  and  nothing  to  advance 
the  cause  of  Chinese  liberty.  "Since  the  inauguration  of  the 
Republic,  no  uniform  system  of  provincial  administration  has 
been  adopted"  (Chinese  Yearbook  1914,  page  278).  The  post  and 
telegraphs,  roads,  rails  and  waterways  have  received  no  atten- 
tion. No  practical  steps  have  been  taken  to  reform  the  money 
system,  weights  and  measures.  Absolutely  nothing  to  advance 
the  interest  of  the  people  has  been  accomplished.  Yuan's  whole 
regime  has  been  a  rule  of  bloodshed  in  an  attempt  to  crush  the 
uprisings  which  are  forever  forming  themselves  against  him  in 
his  uncertain  seat  of  authority.  And  all  the  time  through  his 


Yuan  the  Red  199 


highly  paid  emissaries  he  has  been  trying  to  fool  the  world. 
Orders,  mandates  and  decrees  have  been  vaingloriously  promul- 
gated in  an  attempt  to  prove  his  fitness  to  rule.  But  Yuan  does 
not  and  never  will  control  China,  his  present  power  being  a  mere 
piratical  tenure  obtained  through  mercenary  and  intimidated 
troops  who  will  joyously  desert  him  when  the  opportunity  is 
offered  and  they  can  find  employment  elsewhere.  Yuan  has  a 
mere  paper  authority  over  China, — a  paper  authority  that  will 
flash  up  into  fire  and  flicker  down  to  ashes  as  soon  as  it  has  been 
touched  by  the  undying  spark  of  patriotism  struck  from  the  steel 
and  flint  unyieldingness  of  the  new  awakened  China,  but  as  long 
as  he  remains  in  power  the  bloody  spectre  of  civil  warfare  will 
hover  over  Cathay. 

In  no  other  country  of  the  world  could  such  a  tyrant  have 
lived  out  the  authority  of  a  single  season,  but  such  is  the  mag- 
nanimity of  the  real  Chinese  leaders,  Sun  Yat  Sen,  Hwang  Hsing 
and  their  colleagues  in  wishing  to  avoid  bloodshed,  that  they 
have  refrained  from  throwing  off  the  burden  of  his  punishment 
and  expulsion  by  plunging  the  country  in  continued  civil  war. 

And  in  the  meantime  Yuan  the  Red  is  desperately  trying  to 
bring  China  cowering  to  his  feet.  But  there  may  be  other  "Punish 
Yuan  Expeditions"  and  more  and  more  successful  and  eventually 
this  greatest  tyrant  of  modern  history  will  be  consigned  to  a 
mildewed  niche  far  down  and  beneath  the  pedestal  of  honor  upon 
which  are  inscribed  the  names  of  those  Chinese  leaders :  Sun  Yat 
Sen  and  Hwang  Hsing,  with  their  brave  comrades. 

For  after  all  in  the  history  of  the  Chinese  people  Yuan's 
tyranny,  wicked,  scourging  and  heavy  as  it  now  is,  will  eventually 
appear  a  mere  episode,  just  a  breathing  point  in  which  the  great 
Chinese  people  for  a  moment  submitted  to  the  tyrant,  while  mak- 
ing ready  to  push  farther  on  and  forward  on  the  modern  highway 
of  progress. 

Who  has  had  greater  power  to  do  good  than  Yuan  ?  Who  has 
made  a  more  wicked  use  of  power,  neglecting  all  the  great  and 


200    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

splendid  materials  from  which  to  build  up  the  people's  welfare, 
threatening  Chinese  patriotism  with  the  bayonet  thrust  when  he 
should  have  been  forging  plowshares  from  swords  for  the  relief 
and  uplift  of  suffering  China  ? 

If  against  all  present  forecast  Yuan  should  be  able  to  con- 
tinue much  longer  in  power  by  beguiling  America  into  making 
him  loans  for  the  continuance  of  his  regime  of  bloodshed,  then 
in  that  event  he  will  prove  to  be  the  great  cause  of  Chinese  disin- 
tegration. Already  the  Japanese  are  trying  to  paint  the  black 
spot  of  dry  rot  upon  the  body  politic  of  China,  which  once  it  is 
fully  effected  might  politically  mean  the  decay  of  the  world's 
oldest  civilization,  were  there  not  such  leaders  as  Sun  Yat  Sen 
and  Hwang  Hsing  to  show  the  people  the  remedy. 

Much  has  been  said  concerning  the  corruption  of  the  Man- 
chus,  but  their  squeeze  was  as  nothing  compared  with  the  gigantic 
graft  of  Yuan's  rule,  for  he  has  gathered  around  him  in  the 
highest  offices  and  as  his  boon  political  companions  in  pelf  and 
loot,  certain  men  whose  reputations  are  as  a  stench  from  Chihli 
to  Kuantung,  and  whose  forays  upon  the  foreign  loans  make  the 
grab  of  the  Manchu  henchmen  appear  as  a  mere  bagatelle. 

But  China's  peril  through  Yuan's  misrule  does  not  pass  unob- 
served in  America  even  in  this  time  of  Europe's  death-rattling 
conflict  and  the  Japanese  aggression.  America,  by  refusing  to 
loan  money  on  what  is  practically  only  Yuan's  personal  assur- 
ance,— for  there  is  no  constitutional  authority  for  Yuan's  pro- 
posed loan, — will  show  its  protest  again  and  again  as  it  has  in 
the  past,  until  the  leadership  of  the  people  through  the  real 
Chinese  patriots,  such  as  Sun  Yat  Sen,  Hwang  Hsing  and  their 
colleagues,  eventually  gives  assurance  that  the  voice  of  the  Chi- 
nese people  and  not  that  of  the  despot  Yuan  is  speaking. 

China  is  today  living  on  her  principal,  for  under  Yuan  she 
has  no  income.  Yuan's  aim  is  to  mortgage  China  to  foreign 
powers,  thinking  that  they  will  thereby  help  continue  him  in  his 
tyrannical  misrule  of  the  world's  most  populous  and  resourceful 


Yuan  the  Red  201 


country,  for  although  China  is  the  richest  land  on  our  planet  and 
still  has  relatively  the  smallest  national  debt,  she  is,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  already  under  Yuan's  policy  of  apres  moi  le  deluge, 
becoming  actually  bankrupt,  seeking  to  pay  her  interest  indebt- 
edness out  of  new  foreign  loans  made  for  that  purpose. 

To  Yuan  there  seems  to  come  no  thought  of  a  sinking  fund  or 
amortization  of  China's  present  debt.  Such  a  ruinous  policy  of 
making  loans  anywhere  and  everywhere  he  can,  and  at  the  most 
extortionate  rates  and  for  which  Yuan  alone  is  responsible,  of 
course,  will  bring  upon  him,  when  the  facts  percolate  through 
the  secret  walls  of  his  infamously  privy  counsel  into  the  channels 
of  public  information,  the  wrath  of  the  whole  Chinese  people. 

History  is  today  going  at  the  greatest  speed  the  world  has 
ever  known, — a  speed  which  knows  no  limits,  restrictions  or 
bounds.  Our  globe  is  growing  older  by  hours  rather  than  by 
centuries.  Much  will  come  to  China  in  this  topsy-turvy,  whirli- 
gig of  the  whole  world  at  war,  for  history  will  be  made  in  Cathay 
as  it  is  being  made  elsewhere,  and  perhaps  before  this  volume 
is  out  of  the  press  there  will  yet  be  much  of  new  in  China's  strug- 
gle against  Yuan  to  be  chronicled.  For  the  end  may  come  quickly 
to  the  Chinese  acquiescence  and  sufferance  of  despotism,  and  even 
with  the  fresh  thorns  of  Japanese  invasions,  great,  ponderous 
China,  the  contemporary  of  Babylon  and  Assyria,  looms  up  be- 
fore the  world,  too  gigantic  to  be  the  object  of  political  dismem- 
berment and  national  extinction  as  will  be  the  case  with  the 
weaker  nations,  such  as  Turkey  and  Persia.  China  has  lived  too 
long,  endured  too  long,  and  grown  too  great  to  succumb  to  even 
all  the  combined  influences  of  the  most  ambitious  of  allied  na- 
tions whose  aggrandizement  as  to  China  will  indeed  overreach 
and  eventually  react  upon  itself. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX 

THE  BACK  STAIRS  TO  PEKING 

Since  Yuan  usurped  the  rule  of  China,  the  back-stairs  method 
of  administration  has  prevented  the  world  from  being  informed 
of  what  is  going  on  in  Peking.  Surrounding  himself  with  such 
counselors  as  may  best  serve  his  own  personal  ambition,  he  has 
labored  assiduously,  not  for  the  good  of  China,  but  indeed  alone 
for  Yuan.  Even  the  secrecy  of  the  Manchu  regime  becomes  as 
an  open  book  compared  with  the  clandestine,  closed-door  policy 
of  Yuan  who,  with  one  hand  in  the  treasury,  holds  the  other 
raised  menacingly  against  all  who  would  counsel  against  his 
waste,  his  extravagance  and  his  despotic  control  over  the  lives 
of  all  those  who  are  admitted  to  his  deliberations. 

How  long  is  this  condition  of  wastage  to  continue?  How 
long  is  China  to  kneel  under  the  chains  of  such  arbitrary  rule? 
Is  it  not  for  the  American  people  both  in  refraining  from  lending 
financial  aid  to  Yuan  Shih-K'ai,  but  also  in  an  outspoken  ad- 
herence to  the  real  republican  leaders,  to  help  the  Chinese  on 
toward  the  enjoyment  of  that  form  of  government  to  which  they 
are  particularly  well  suited  and  for  which  they  have  fought? 

By  so  doing  we  will  advance  our  own  interests,  for  the  great 
highway  of  American  prosperity  now  lies  on  over  the  expanse 
that  stretches  out  beyond  Golden  Gate. 

And  it  is  not  by  the  back  stairs  to  Peking  that  the  American 
people  will  make  their  voice  heard  in  China,  but  rather  through 
the  open  doors  of  a  new  justice,  in  whose  temples  eventually  shall 
rule  the  same  liberty  that  glorifies  American  institutions. 

But  someone  says,  "Yes,  but  Yuan  is  a  strong  man.  He  is  in 
his  great  office  by  reason  of  his  fitness  to  use  authority." 

Against  this  assertion  again  I  ask,  "What  good  has  Yuan 
ever  done  for  China?  During  his  comparatively  long  enjoy- 

202 


The  Back  Stairs  to  Peking  203 

ment  of  the  most  autocratic  authority,  what  single  accomplish- 
ment can-  be  pointed  to  in  justification  of  his  right  to  rule  ?" 

China  is  not  far  from  America,  for  the  Pacific  unites  rather 
than  divides  the  two  great  countries.  Every  year  the  distance 
is  growing  less.  Is  it  not  our  duty  to  stretch  out  our  hands  to 
those  Chinese  patriots  now  exiled  from  home  and  greet  them  as 
brothers  ? 

Yuan's  five  power  loan  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  mil- 
lion dollars  is  gone,  and  that  to  the  detriment  rather  than  to 
even  a  shadow  of  advance  in  the  welfare  of  the  Chinese  people. 
It  was  spent  by  Yuan  for  Yuan;  to  pay  for  the  army  which 
alone  has  kept  Yuan  in  power.  But  miserable  Yuan  has  at 
length  come  to  the  bottom  of  that  overflowing  barrel  and  all  his 
cunning  craft  and  knavish  astuteness  cannot  furnish  him  with 
another.  Indeed  deplorable  is  his  condition.  On  all  sides  he 
hears  clamorings  and  mutterings  for  money — money  and  more 
money — for  thieves  and  robbers  fall  out  and  fight  when  there 
is  no  more  booty  in  sight.  So  Yuan's  whole  desperate  aim  in 
life  is  now  centered  upon  getting  funds  to  continue  his  -wicked 
regime. 

But  how  is  he  to  obtain  it?  Surely  not  from  the  former 
source  of  his  borrowing,  for  all  the  nations  in  the  original  quin- 
tuple group  are  themselves  involved  in  a  great  death  struggle 
with  not  even  a  single  breath  to  waste  on  the  wretched  Yuan, 
let  alone  lending  him  money.  Then  Japan  is  not  in  a  position 
to  grant  a  loan,  much  as  she  would  like  to  serve  as  China's  pawn- 
broker, for  it  is  not  along  the  easy  road  of  the  money  lender  that 
Japan  will  ever  be  able  to  do  anything  in  China.  So  there  is 
only  one  country  left  from  which  Yuan  has  a  hope  of  getting 
money  and  that  is  in  America — the  land  which,  hating  a  tyrant, 
has  already  dismissed  his  emissaries  from  its  doors. 

But  Yuan  is  of  that  cunning,  crafty  type  who  will  not  accept 
a  single  or  a  dozen  failures  as  conclusive  of  eventual  downfall. 
Besides,  his  present  condition  is  desperate;  it  is  precarious,  for 


204    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

he  knows  that  soon  all  China — the  whole  great  wrathful  mass  of 
the  Chinese  people — will  exact  of  him  an  accounting,  and  if  he 
has  no  money  for  the  troops  to  overcome  the  honest  uprising  of 
the  people  he  will,  indeed,  be  at  the  end  of  his  rope. 

So  Yuan  is  prepared  to  make  any  promises — to  grant  any 
concessions — to  enter  into  any  conspiracies  to  get  money  for 
himself  under  the  pretense  of  a  loan  for  the  Chinese  people. 
He  is  willing  to  submit  to  any  demands  of  usury  and  grant  any 
extortion  by  squeeze  in  order  to  get  the  loan  for  he  knows  that 
it  is  only  money  that  will  hold  him  in  office. 

And  in  his  desperation  he  would  send  other  emissaries  to 
this  country.  When  two  fail  he  will  send  a  dozen,  and  when  a 
dozen  fail  he  will  send  fifty.  Neither  fifty  nor  yet  fifty  times 
fifty  of  his  hirelings,  will  all  combined  be  able  to  make  a  loan 
in  America,  for  unfortunately  for  Yuan,  it  is  the  Yankee  practice 
to  only  lend  money  when  there  is  assurance  of  the  return  of  the 
principal  with  interest,  and  Yuan  has  not  been  able  to  conceal  the 
fact  that  his  loan  will  never  be  repaid  by  the  Chinese  people, 
because  it  is  illegal.  A  loan  by  a  despot  is  not  considered  a 
very  safe  investment  by  the  American  people  and  since  any  loan 
proposed  by  Yuan  lacks  that  most  essential  feature  of  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Chinese  people,  it  will  always  be  considered  unconsti- 
tutional and  will  not  be  eventually  recognized  by  this  generation 
or  succeeding  posterity.  By  dispersing  Parliament  and  driving 
out  most  of  its  members  Yuan  in  his  madness  thrust  aside  the 
only  instrument  which  he  possessed  to  enable  him  to  make  a  loan. 

It  is  ridiculous  to  contemplate  even  in  a  remote  preliminary 
way  the  furnishing  of  such  a  loan  by  the  American  people,  for 
granting  money  to  Yuan  on  his  mere  word  as  a  usurping  execu- 
tive, a  murderous  dictator,  would  be  the  most  unheard  of  folly. 
Giving  an  American  loan  to  Aguinaldo  when  he  was  on  his  retreat 
to  Palanan  would  have  been  largely  justified  in  comparison.  For 
Aguinaldo  had  a  substantial  following  still  among  the  Filipino 
people,  whereas  Yuan  has  absolutely  none  among  the  Chinese. 


The  Back  Stairs  to  Peking 205 

And  it  is  remarkable  that  a  man  of  Yuan's  maneuvering, 
stratagem  and  wily,  dodging  trickery  should  not  have  treated  his 
Parliament  more  discreetly,  for  he  might  have  known  that  no 
loan  could  ever  be  made  by  him  without  at  least  a  semblance  of 
constitutional  authority.  As  it  is,  he  is  seeking  hopelessly  in  the 
money  markets  of  the  world  for  a  loan  upon  his  mere  personal 
guarantee.  But  he  has  killed  the  tame  goose  that  would  have 
laid  the  golden  eggs,  and  why  should  any  one  commiserate  with 
him  in  his  frantic  distress?  Of  course,  he  has  cunningly  tried 
to  devise  some  sort  of  a  substitute  for  a  Congress,  but  when  it 
comes  to  lending  money  the  lender  will  most  carefully  scrutinize 
the  smallest  irregularity,  for  the  simple  process  of  giving  money 
out  is  but  a  pretty  little  pastime  compared  with  the  blood  sweat- 
ing efforts  of  sometime  trying  to  get  it  back,  and  even  the  wildest 
American  speculator  would  not  risk  two  per  cent  on  the  hope  of 
winning  back  a  thousand  on  such  a  precarious  proposition  as 
that  proposed  by  Yuan. 

The  Chinese  founders  of  the  great  republic  foresaw  the  pos- 
sibility of  Yuan's  despotic  action  in  immediately  providing  in 
the  constitution  adopted  under  Sun  Yat  Sen  at  Nankin  in  1912, 
that  no  loans  could  be  made  by  the  Eepublic  without  the  consent 
and  sanction  of  Parliament.  And  it  was  exactly  the  attempt  of 
Yuan  to  force  a  loan  for  his  own  interests  which  caused  him  to 
arbitrarily  dissolve  Parliament  when  he  found  that  he  could  not 
make  it  his  creature.  His  present  attempt  to  bulldoze  his  pro- 
posed loan  through,  will,  of  course,  as  has  been  already  suggested, 
not  be  of  any  avail  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  security  whatsoever  for  such  loan  and  it  will  be  immediately 
repudiated  by  the  Chinese  people  as  soon  as  Parliament  is 
restored. 

The  present  loan  asked  by  Yuan  is  a  mere  bagatelle  of  forty 
millions  and  although  Yuan  has  secured  the  service  of  American 
experts  to  assist  in  obtaining  the  loan,  it  is  quite  evident  that 
the  American  policy  of  fair  dealing  and  honesty  in  all  inter- 


206    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

national  matters  will  be  continued  in  our  present  State  Depart- 
ment and  any  attempt  to  get  an  official  or  quasi  official  sanction 
in  America  for  such  an  illegal  loan  will  be  frustrated.  There 
is  no  legal  or  other  expert  talent  here  or  in  China  that  will  be 
able  to  convince  the  American  investor  that  Yuan's  bonds  will 
be  worth  anything,  if  such  investor  is  informed  that  the  same 
will  be  without  the  sanction  of  the  Chinese  people. 

Hence  the  real  Chinese  patriots  now  exiled  from  their  beloved 
land  by  Yuan  may  dismiss  any  fear  that  he  will  be  able  to  obtain 
money  in  this  country  to  continue  his  cruel  and  high-handed 
tyranny,  for  the  Yankee  mind  is  too  long-headed  to  risk  money 
on  such  unauthorized  offers  as  are  being  made  by  the  emissaries 
of  Yuan. 

And  in  this  connection  it  would  be  foolish  to  attempt  to 
forecast  as  to  what  the  Japanese  intervention  may  mean,  within 
the  very  near  future  perhaps,  in  hurrying  China  out  as  a  bor- 
rower in  the  money  market  of  the  world. 

But  be  that  as  it  may,  whenever  the  Chinese  Eepublic  is 
restored  and  is  freed  from  Yuan's  despotism  and  there  is  a  legal- 
ized and  constitutional  authority  for  making  loans,  then  the 
Chinese  people  will  in  nowise  find  America  lacking  in  furnish- 
ing funds  for  the  development  of  the  vast  treasure.  And  in  the 
meantime  Yuan's  offers  will  go  begging. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

SUN  YAT  SEN 

Sun  Yat  Sen  must  always  remain  the  first  citizen  of  the 
Chinese  Republic.  From  America,  North  and  South,  from  the 
Straits  Settlements,  from  British  and  French  India,  from  re- 
mote Japan,  from  the  Philippines  and  from  Java,  he  gathered 
together  the  forces  which  centering  from  abroad  eventually 
aroused  public  sentiment  at  home  against  the  Manchus.  He, 
with  Hwang  Hsing,  prepared  the  way  and  through  a  forest  of 
apathy  they  blazed  the  trail  of  the  Chinese  Republic. 

Sun  Yat  Sen  has  always  been  fearless.  His  bravery  has  been 
the  bravery  of  discretion.  In  his  escapes  and  flights  about  the 
world  it  was  not  his  personal  safety  which  he  considered,  but 
rather  that  the  instrument  of  his  own  being  might  serve  longer 
for  the  emancipation  of  his  country.  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Hwang 
Hsing  are  made  of  a  stuff  which  does  not  fear  death.  They  will 
ever  be  among  the  first  of  the  "Dare  to  Dies."  Although  Yuan 
has  now  put  prices  upon  their  heads  and  driven  them  from  the 
land  of  their  love  and  self-sacrifice  they  will  still  labor  in 
the  cause.  Their  escape  was  none  too  soon,  for  the  murder  at 
Shanghai,  March  20,  1913,  of  Sung  Chiao-jen,  former  minister 
of  education,  was  a  warning  timely  given  them  and  circumstances 
have  proven  that  there  was  justification  in  charging  Yuan  with 
implication  in  that  dreadful  assassination. 

There  are  many  contradictory  things  said  about  the  great 
Sun;  contradictory  and  yet  nothing  really  derogatory,  for  Sun 
is  a  hero  whom  even  his  worst  enemies  find  not  the  heart  to 
deride.  He  has  never  written  his  biography.  I  doubt  if  he  ever 
will,  but  even  what  he  says  in  his  "Kidnapped  in  London"  will 
furnish  an  inspiration  to  not  only  the  Chinese  but  to  the  youth 
of  every  country  wherein  the  sentiment  of  patriotism  is  found. 

There  is  one  question  which  has  always  been  uppermost  in 
14  207 


208    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

my  mind :  Where  did  Sun  Yat  Sen  get  his  inspiration  ?  When 
I  chanced  upon  the  following  story  I  rejoiced : 

Sun  Yat  Sen  obtained  his  first  instruction  from  an  uncle 
who  was  a  village  schoolmaster  in  Kuantang  where  Sun  was  born 
(although  it  is  also  claimed  that  he  was  born  in  Honolulu),  the 
son  of  a  farmer,  afterwards  a  Christian  convert  in  the  employ 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 

The  uncle  himself  was  thoroughly  anti-Manchu  and  yearned 
for  Chinese  freedom,  for  he  had  carried  arms  in  the  Taiping 
Rebellion  and  always  held  up  to  little  Sun  the  example  of  Hung 
Shin-chin,  the  leader  of  that  rebellion.  I  glorify  the  name  of 
that  village  schoolmaster  of  Heung  Shan,  who  taught  young  Sun 
the  first  lessons  of  Chinese  freedom,  for  it  is  related  that  the 
old  master  in  the  humble  environment  of  the  lowly  Chinese 
hamlet  forever  taught  the  story  of  liberation  from  Manchu  rule, 
exhorting  the  little  lad  to  follow  the  example  of  Hung  Shin-chin, 
and  so  inspired  was  the  boy,  that  frequently  in  his  play  with 
the  other  lads  of  the  village  he  would  call  himself  Hung  Shin- 
chin,  and  if  in  their  sports  he  would  sometimes  drive  them  hard 
he  would  declare : 

"Pardon  me,  comrades,  but  I  am  to  be  a  Hung  Shin-chin 
for  the  good  of  us  all."  And  so  endeared  and  beloved  was  he 
among  them  that  even  then  they  wondered  at  the  lad  and  ac- 
cepted his  leadership  in  their  puerile  contests. 

As  progress  goes  on,  history,  the  great  embellisher  and  beau- 
tifier  of  heroic  lives,  will  fill  out  in  every  detail  the  story  of 
Sun  Yat  Sen's  life  and  it  will  be  venerated  as  few  names  in 
history. 

In  analyzing  Dr.  Sun's  life  there  is  one  thought  ever  upper- 
most: The  thought  that  he  consecrated  his  every  heart  beat  to 
his  country.  Wandering  in  foreign  lands  does  not  change  him, 
new  scenes  and  environment  and  promises  of  great  professional 
rewards  in  foreign  lands  do  not  beguile  him. 

As  a  young  man  he  leaves  Heung  Shan,  the  little  village  of 


San  Yat  Sen  209 


his  birth,  which  some  day  will  become  a  venerated  spot  to  the 
Chinese.  He  crosses  the  ocean,  sees  a  new  world  such  as  he  had 
never  before  dreamed,  with  fair  lands  of  progress  and  advance- 
ment, and  his  ideal  becomes  a  China  emancipated  from  tyranny. 
He  settles  in  Hawaii,  becomes  a  Christian  and  in  Christian 
prayers  prays  for  his  country.  He  graduates  from  the  lolani 
College  and,  feeling  the  mastery  of  his  education  guiding  him 
on,  he  goes  back  to  the  land  of  his  birth  that  he  may  do  good 
among  his  people.  Graduated  in  medicine  at  Hongkong  he  be- 
comes a  successful  physician  and  surgeon  with  the  promise  of 
large  professional  reward  before  him,  but  his  heart  is  ever  for 
China  in  all  the  upward  steps  of  his  education;  in  all  his  wan- 
derings his  whole  being  is  in  the  thought  of  redeeming  China. 

Yuan,  as  the  direct  opposite  of  Sun,  shows  that  he  either  does 
not  believe  in  his  bigoted  ignorance,  that  the  Chinese  people  are 
capable  of  a  republic  or  that  he  wantonly  tries  to  choke  and 
strangle  all  efforts  of  Chinese  reform  in  the  desire  to  establish 
a  dynasty  of  which  he  himself  may  eventually  become  the  rul- 
ing power.  Not  even  his  most  devoted  henchmen  can  deny  that 
Yuan  has  ruthlessly  usurped  the  power  of  the  Chinese  Republic 
and  drove  from  it  the  real  fathers  of  the  movement  of  China's 
liberation  when  Sun  delivered  the  presidency  to  him. 

Shall  we  call  Yuan  a  dictator?  No,  for  that  would  assume 
at  least  a  military  semblance  of  law  and  order.  He  is  simply 
a  tyrant  in  a  country  struggling  for  freedom,  over  whose  people 
his  influence  ever  stretches  out  as  a  black  mantle  of  despair, 
while  their  real  leaders  are  exiled  from  their  midst. 

But  some  day  the  people  will  throw  off  the  mantle  and  call 
out  to  the  leaders  who  are  waiting — waiting  now  in  exile — and 
they  shall  hear  an  answer,  and  before  the  wrath  of  four  hundred 
millions  Yuan  shall  flee. 

Sun  Yat  Sen  is  the  great  Chinese  crusader.  There  is  no 
man  in  our  own  American  history  with  whom  we  can  compare 
hinu 


210    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

As  we  read  the  scant  chronicling  of  his  life — those  of  us 
who  knew  China  when  it  was  irrevocably,  as  it  then  seemed,  in 
the  shackles  of  Manchu  control — we  wonder  at  the  indomitable 
force  of  this  idealist,  this  dreamer,  if  you  will,  but  always  a 
crusader,  who  pressed  onward  until  his  dreams  came  true,  al- 
most between  the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  sun.  We  follow 
him  in  his  wanderings,  with  his  self-imposed  political  mission 
to  the  Chinese  abroad  in  those  great  foreign  countries  where 
he  found  friends  who  continued  the  work  from  spot  to  spot,  as 
we  consider  the  great  end  attained  by  him  on  his  formation  in 
1915  of  the  Tung  Meng  Hui. 

Organization  is  not  difficult  among  the  Chinese,  but  organiza- 
tion on  such  a  gigantic  political  scale  and  under  such  perilously 
tremendous  odds  was  a  triumph  reserved  alone  to  him. 

If  they  call  the  Cantonese  the  "Irish  of  China"  they  will  at 
least  have  qualified  this  great  leader  Sun  with  two  qualities 
for  which  the  Irish  are  distinguished:  courage  and  sincerity, 
qualities  which  have  made  Sun  the  great  reform  organizer  that 
he  is.  With  courage  he  continued  his  labor,  and  with  sincerity 
he  found  friends  who  continued  the  work  from  spot  to  spot  as 
he  went  on  his  journeys  about  the  globe. 

The  world  will  need  at  least  a  full  generation  to  reflect 
and  perpend  upon  the  greatness  of  Sun  Yat  Sen.  The  magni- 
tude of  his  service  to  humanity  is  beyond  our  comprehension 
of  today.  But  sometime  it  will  be  crystallized  in  the  pristine 
archives  of  man's  history  and  the  name  will  shine  with  glory, 
the  name  of  Sun  Yat  Sen. 


CHAPTEE  XXXI 

CHINESE   NATIONALIST  LEAGUE  AND  LIN  SUN 

In  this  connection  a  word  concerning  Lin  Sun,  the  present 
president  of  the  Chinese  Nationalist  League  of  America,  will 
be  appropriate  as  bearing  light  from  the  Chinese  standpoint  upon 
the  nature  of  the  efforts  of  Yuan  to  obtain  a  loan  from  this 
country.  Lin  Sun,  former  president  of  the  Chinese  senate, 
somewhat  younger  than  Sun  Yat  Sen  and  Hwang  Hsing,  has 
gathered  his  inspiration  from  them  and  is  destined  to  be  a 
Chinese  leader  of  great  usefulness  and  authority.  Can  anyone 
doubt  the  ability  and  desire  of  the  Chinese  to  establish  a 
republic  when  they  have  such  leaders  as  he  and  his  colleagues? 
Urbane,  suave  and  convincing  in  his  personality,  keen  eyed, 
energetic  and  well  balanced,  both  from  the  Chinese  and  Occi- 
dental standpoint,  he  partakes  much  of  the  character  of  Sun 
Yat  Sen,  the  idealist,  and  Hwang  Hsing,  the  man  of  action. 

As  head  of  the  great  Chinese  Nationalist  movement  in 
America,  he  is  one  of  the  chiefs  among  the  exiles.  His  labors 
likewise  have  been  long,  arduous  and  self-sacrificing,  and  the 
Chinese  in  conferring  upon  him  the  captaincy  of  the  Chinese 
Nationalist  League  have  signaled  him  out  to  a  place  among  the 
leaders. 

The  Chinese  Nationalist  League,  as  a  voluntary  patriotic 
movement,  carries  on  its  great  work  without  the  burdensome 
and  enforced  expense  that  characterizes  many  other  political 
organizations  in  the  Orient  as  well  as  here  among  us.  Its  mem- 
bers sustain  and  support  it  because  its  purpose  is  just.  There 
is  no  salary  grabbing  in  its  midst,  and  the  discipline  of  this 
great  organization  is  alone  kept  up  by  the  honor  of  its  adherents. 
Their  organization  is  complete  and  permanent,  and  will  eventu- 
ally accomplish  its  ends — the  redemption  of  China  and  a  con- 
tinuous effort  for  its  betterment. 

211 


212    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

Its  officers  are  all  competent  and  successful  men,  most  of 
them  being  merchants.  C.  Y.  Fung,  who  stands  high  on  the 
list  of  Chinese  patriots,  as  secretary  to  Sun  Yat  Sen  in  the 
Nanking  government  and  who  has  distinguished  himself  as  a 
journalist  and  as  editor  of  the  Chinese  monthly,  "The  People's 
Tongue,"  in  this  country,  is  the  vice-president,  Wong  Back 
Yue  being  secretary  and  Kung  Hin  Yui  treasurer ;  all  men  strong 
in  patriotism  and  filled  with  the  faith  of  their  great  cause. 

To  an  American  accustomed  to  regard  political  parties  as  a 
mere  question  of  quadrennial  adherence,  it  may  seem  strange 
that  the  members  of  the  Chinese  Nationalist  League  enter  upon 
their  obligations  as  such  with  a  zeal  and  fervor  which  has  no 
parallel  among  us,  for  the  tenets  of  Chinese  Nationalism  are 
not  a  mere  belief  but  rather  a  faith,  a  faith  that  China  will  be 
redeemed  from  Yuan's  rule  and  take  her  place  where  she  be- 
longs among  the  nations  of  the  world  without  cringing  and 
fawning  through  the  representation  of  a  despot  in  the  foreign 
money  markets  of  the  world. 

Yes,  the  Chinese  Nationalists  not  only  have  a  faith  but  a 
creed,  a  creed  that  is  to  them  more  than  our  own  Declaration 
of  Independence  against  the  tyranny  of  the  House  of  Hanover; 
a  tyranny  which  was  indeed  a  beneficent  rule  compared  with 
the  blood-stained  despotism  of  Yuan. 

And  they  come  from  every  class,  these  Chinese  Nationalists; 
none  is  too  poor  and  lowly  and  none  is  too  rich  or  exalted 
not  to  affiliate  with  this,  the  greatest  of  all  reform  movements. 

Meeting  as  I  do  Chinese  in  all  stations  of  life,  I  have  won- 
dered at  the  open  and  avowed  adherence  of  the  Chinese  Nation- 
alists to  the  great  cause,  for  such  adherence  means  that  they 
may  not  at  the  present  time  return  to  China  and  to  the  graves 
of  their  ancestors  except  under  penalty  of  imprisonment  and 
perhaps  death. 

But  they  all  believe  in  the  eventual  success  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  predict  an  early  fulfillment  of  the  purpose  of  the 


LIN   SUN,  President  Chinese   Nationalist   League. 


Chinese  Nationalist  League  and  Lin  Sun       213 

reform  in  the  overthrow  of  Yuan  and  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Chinese  Republic.  Has  there  ever  in  the  world  before  been 
such  an  association?  Without  freemasonry  of  any  kind,  merely 
under  the  pledge  of  their  patriotism  to  their  mother  country 
they  are  bound  together  in  a  close  and  purposeful  fraternity. 

It  seems  that  nearly  all  Chinese  of  any  consequence  in 
America,  excepting  the  Chinese  students  subsidized  in  the 
American  universities  by  Yuan,  belong  to  this  great  political 
order.  Capitalists,  and  there  are  many  Chinese  capitalists  in 
America,  restaurant  keepers,  and  then  down  the  line  to  the 
humble  laundryman,  all  openly  declare  their  allegiance  to  the 
cause  which  for  them  will  never  be  lost. 

And  not  only  here  in  America  is  the  Chinese  Nationalist 
movement  strong,  but  all  over  the  world  where  the  Chinese 
immigrant  is  found  abroad.  Those  splendid  first  beginnings 
so  fruitful  in  their  final  results  obtained  by  Sun  Yat  Sen  in 
journeys  far  and  wide,  have  grown  out  into  a  worldwide  co- 
herent labor  which  can  but  obtain  the  fulfillment  of  the  ideal 
of  the  re-establishment  of  the  Chinese  Eepublic.  No  movement 
can  succeed  without  leadership,  and  therein  lies  the  assured  suc- 
cess of  the  Chinese  reform  movement.  It  has  leaders  who  are 
sincere,  incorruptible  and  resolute,  and  the  people,  the  great 
Chinese  people,  have  confidence  in  their  ultimate  success  and 
are  waiting  for  the  day  that  cometh. 


CHAPTEE  XXXII 

THE  JAPANESE  PERIL  IN  CHINA 

There  is  hardly  anything  which  can  be  said  politically  about 
the  far  East  which  does  not  have  to  be  qualified.  When  it 
comes  to  a  consideration  of  Japan,  today  the  most  wonderfully 
congruous  nation  of  the  whole  world,  any  general  statement  of 
the  fact  must  carry  with  it  its  scores  of  modifications  and  ex- 
planations. No  one  can  talk  Japanese  politics;  no,  not  even 
a  Japanese;  one  can  merely  flounder  about  seeking  some  point 
where  after  all  the  water  may  appear  for  a  time  at  least  to 
have  reached  its  level.  For  Japanese  plots  never  seem  to  develop 
until  finis  is  written  in  bold  and  unalterable  letters  at  the  end 
of  the  whole  story.  Japanese  rules  of  political  conduct  are  for- 
gotten in  the  multitude  of  their  exceptions.  One  of  the  chief 
occupations  of  our  next  generation  in  its  entirety,  and  perhaps 
a  substantial  part  of  the  present,  will  be  to  try  to  guess  what 
the  wonderful  Japanese  are  going  to  successfully  do  next.  Our 
own  political  methods  are  as  slow  as  a  glacier  compared  with 
the  avalanche  movement  of  our  friends  and  neighbors  across 
the  sea. 

But  when  Baron  Kato,  the  Japanese  premier,  sent  his  note 
to  the  Peking  government  in  the  beginning  of  1915  demand- 
ing concessions  from  China  on  a  politically  enormous  state, 
no  one  really  wondered  who  knew,  because  Yuan's  stranglehold 
on  China  had  long  invited  Japan  and  long  put  Cathay  at 
the  mercy  of  its  ambitious  neighbor,  whose  chance  to  despoil 
it  or  exploit  it,  as  you  will,  under  the  justification  that  if  she 
did  not  do  it  some  of  the  European  nations  would,  was  oppor- 
tunely presented  by  the  occasion  of  Europe's  great  war. 

The  world's  history  does  not  afford  from  one  standpoint 
such  a  national  cut  throat  aggression,  nor  from  another  stand- 

214 


The  Japanese  Peril  in  China  215 

point  such  an  easy  opportunity  of  one  nation  extending  its 
sphere  of  influence  over  the  entire  territory  of  another. 

The  program  of  Japan  in  China,  as  announced  from  day 
to  day  during  the  last  few  months,  is  simply  stupendous. 
The  mind  is  overwhelmed  in  its  consideration.  The  world  has 
never  known  anything  like  it  before,  and  our  own  petty  declara- 
tions of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  on  the  Atlantic  and  the  Open 
Door  Policy  on  the  Pacific  become  mere  kindergarten  babbling 
by  comparison.  For  not  only  does  Japan  demand  of  China  her 
most  valuable  concessions,  industrially  and  commercially,  includ- 
ing railways  and  mining  franchises,  but  would  prohibit  China 
from  hereafter  ceding  such  concessions  to  other  countries,  thus 
practically  making  herself  not  only  the  absolute  political  master 
of  China  but  indeed  the  lord  trustee  of  all  her  domain,  and 
in  demanding  that  the  Japanese  be  employed  to  the  highest 
rank  of  the  army,  of  the  navy  and  of  the  police,  as  well  as  to 
the  highest  positions  in  the  customs  and  departments  of  finance, 
they  attempt  to  gain  an  advantage  in  the  perpetuation  of  that 
hitherto  unheard  of  power  which  is  so  tremendous  in  its  pos- 
sibilities as  to  bewilder  the  mind  in  an  attempt  to  find  even  a 
moderate  comparison  to  it  in  the  long  history  of  the  world's 
great  conquests. 

Ordinarily  history  teaches  us  that  it  is  a  larger  nation  that 
takes  over  the  smaller,  but  the  Japanese  as  usual  reversing  all 
known  precedents  actually  contemplate  the  wholesale  conquest 
of  a  people  which  outnumbers  them  nearly  ten  to  one. 

Why  should  all  this  be  ?  Why  should  China,  gigantic  China, 
just  taking  her  place  as  a  modern  nation,  be  subject  to  this 
imminent  danger  ?  Why  does  she  not  have  the  strength  to  resist 
this  unwarranted  transgression?  The  answer  is  in  a  measure 
in  Yuan's  weak  foreign  policy,  for  Yuan  has  been  too  busy  at 
home  in  furthering  his  own  selfish  aims  and  in  quelling  the 
uprisings  of  the  people  against  him  to  pay  any  attention  to  the 
dangers  which  threaten  China  from  without. 


216    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

But  we  must  also  remember  in  justice  to  Japan,  that  our 
information  concerning  her  attitude  towards  China  is  as  yet 
too  meagre  to  pass  a  calm,  impartial  final  judgment.  It  will 
only  be  at  the  conclusion  of  Europe's  great  war  and  with  a  new 
regrouping  of  the  powers  that  we  will  fully  be  informed  and  be 
able  to  obtain  the  full  estimate  of  Japan's  position. 

And  in  the  meantime  we  should  remember  that  if  we  have 
our  Monroe  Doctrine,  the  Japanese  cannot  understand  why  they 
should  not  have  their  Okuma  or  Ozaki  Doctrine,  call  it  as  you 
will.  If  we  hold  possessions,  such  as  the  Philippines,  in  the 
Orient,  and  Japan  allows  us  to  do  so  without  a  protest,  what 
right  have  we  to  oppose  the  Japanese  policy  of  expansion  in 
what  is  indisputably  as  much  in  its  sphere  of  influence  as  Latin 
America  is  in  ours.  For  is  not  Japan,  as  really  the  only  or- 
ganized country  of  the  Orient,  the  natural  and  legitimate  leader 
of  the  countries  about? 

As  far  as  America  is  concerned,  its  only  affair  at  present  is 
to  ascertain  as  soon  as  possible  whether  Japan  intends  to  observe 
the  Open-Door-to-China  policy  of  which  we  have  been  so  long 
the  advocates.  If  Japan  is  only  trying  to  shape  a  Buffer  State 
on  the  bay  of  Kiauchau  she  can  hardly  be  blamed,  and  the 
demand  that  the  German  lease  be  transferred  to  Japan  is  not 
unreasonable  from  the  Japanese  standpoint,  particularly  in  view 
of  the  fact,  that  as  far  as  China  is  concerned,  the  last  named 
country  ought  to  be  able  eventually  to  take  care  of  itself. 

And  in  this  regard  it  may  be  stated  in  passing  that  the 
Japanese  appear  to  be  much  chagrined  at  China's  protest  against 
their  occupation  of  Shantung,  signalling  the  fact  that  when 
seventeen  years  before  Germany  made  its  demand  on  the  Tsun-li- 
Yamen  for  a  ninety-nine-year  lease  of  Kiauchau,  the  lease 
was  granted  almost  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  the  Nipponese 
should  remember  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
Manchu-China  of  half  a  generation  ago  and  the  present  new 
China — for  Cathay  has  changed,  and  wonderfully  so,  and  if 


The  Japanese  Peril  in  China  217 

Yuan's  despotism  did  not  choke  down  the  right  to  speak  and 
shackle  the  right  to  defend  from  foreign  invasion,  there  might, 
indeed,  be  an  immediate  way  of  very  soon  disposing  of  Japan's 
onerous  demands. 

But  as  conditions  are,  the  Japanese  will  go  ahead,  changing 
and  modifying  their  demands  in  their  adroit  and  well  contrived 
and  quick-witted  fashion,  bargaining  and  bulldozing  by  turns, 
wheedling  or  threatening  according  as  their  diplomacy  of  the 
hour  exacts,  but  always  steadfastly  confident  in  the  eventual 
success  of  their  exactions  and  particularly  encouraged  to  con- 
tinue the  further  demands  by  the  example  of  China's  submission 
to  our  own  American  swashbuckling  attitude  in  our  American 
exclusion  laws  of  thirty-two  years  ago,  against  which,  thus  far, 
there  has  only  been  the  passing  retaliation  of  the  boycott  of  1904. 

But  at  the  end  of  the  great  political  lane  will  come  the 
turning — the  turning  where  China's  meek  submission  will  cease. 
Then  the  Japanese  will  find  that  the  Chinese  can  give  as  well  as 
take  blows. 

But  for  the  time  being  the  Japanese  are  already  there, 
crowded  around  the  very  doors  of  China  and  with  guns  every- 
where to  enforce  their  demands.  And  if  we  should  venture  as 
Americans  to  in  any  wise  interfere,  the  Japanese  with  much 
polite  breath  sucking  will  suavely  inform  us  that  unfortunately 
we  are  meddling  in  an  affair  which  does  not  in  any  wise  concern 
us;  that  we  ourselves  by  our  own  exclusion  laws  declared  that 
men  should  be  divided  according  to  their  color  into  two  dis- 
tinct and  separate  worlds  and  that  the  white  world  should  enjoy 
all  the  eastern  side  of  the  Pacific,  leaving  the  far  more  numerous 
yellow  race  the  use  of  the  overcrowded  western  side,  and  that 
since  we  have  made  the  Chinese  stay  in  their  yellow  world  it  is 
only  right  that  the  Japanese  as  the  most  progressive  of  the 
yellow  representation  should  there  be  and  remain  the  undisputed 
rulers. 

Driving  the  Germans  out  of  China  has  upset  the  balance  of 


218    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

the  world's  political  boat  and  we  should  not  wonder  if  when  it 
gets  through  rocking,  that  the  Japanese  will  be  found  at  the 
helm.  For  our  own  bigwig,  wiseacre  open  door  declaration,  al- 
though still  in  perfectly  good  form  for  political  after-dinner 
speaking,  is  rather  more  spreadeaglely  than  practical  and  en- 
tirely lacking  in  any  of  the  red-blooded  support  of  even  Nippon's 
most  tentative  mealy-mouthed  offer  to  become  China's  self- 
appointed  mediator  and  savior  against  any  threatened  disinte- 
gration by  Europe. 

If,  however,  by  a  Chino-Japanese  alliance  China  can  get  rid 
of  the  leechy  Yuan,  China  would  be  an  immediate  beneficiary  if 
such  alliance  were  truly  commercial,  and  in  that  case  we  our- 
selves would  not  suffer  so  much  if  our  open-door  policy  on  the 
Pacific  could  enjoy  even  a  generation  of  the  longevity  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  on  the  Atlantic,  for  by  that  time  the  Chinese 
will  be  able  to  take  care  of  themselves  politically  and  will  be 
the  whole  world's  successful  competitor,  commercially  and  in- 
dustrially— paradoxical  as  it  may  seem — because  of  its  self- 
sufficiency  from  conserved  natural  resources,  enabling  it  to  leave 
the  whole  rest  of  the  planet  alone  as  it  has  in  the  past,  or  dictat- 
ing at  will  terms  of  reciprocity. 

As  this  book  goes  to  press,  China,  harassed  and  menaced  by 
Japan,  at  length  again  serenely  looms  up  before  the  world  as  a 
giant  and  peaceful  laborer  of  the  soil,  rather  than  as  an  armed 
warrior,  for  there  has  suddenly  come  a  lull  in  the  vehemence  of 
Japanese  activity.  Why?  Only  the  inner  council  chambers  of 
London  and  Tokyo  can  tell. 

When  England  trusted  to  the  Japanese  to  drive  the  Germans 
out  of  the  Far  East,  she  continued  an  alliance  with  a  nation 
whose  ambitions  are  too  much  like  her  own,  to  warrant  the  belief 
that  the  amity  may  long  continue.  England's  development  in 
the  Occident  will  find  its  parallel  in  Nippon's  expansion  in  the 
Orient.  A  more  natural  alliance  would  be  conceived  between 
Japan  and  Germany,  for  these  two  nations  are  remarkably  fitted 


The  Japanese  Peril  in  China  219 

to  serve  each  others  interests,  in  their  complemental  and  reciprocal 
industry  and  commerce. 

The  allies  of  today  are  the  enemies  of  tomorrow  and  where 
the  flaming  swords  of  war  will  next  join  or  cross,  no  one  knows. 

But  the  adjustment  of  even  the  first  relations  between  Japan 
and  China  will  take  a  long  time,  for  the  Chinese  will  have  to  be 
given  a  free  hand  in  working  out  their  own  reforms  and  with 
their  proverbial  patience  will  proceed  slowly  with  caution  and 
thoroughness.  In  the  meantime — only  persuasion  and  the  proof 
of  the  value  of  reciprocal  benefits  can  gain  the  Japanese  any  ad- 
vantage in  China,  for  otherwise  that  gigantic  country  would  soon 
prove  a  very  expensive  white  elephant  to  the  Nipponese  if  even 
for  a  short  time  they  should  ever  be  able  to  hobble  Chinese  inde- 
pendence. For  Chinese  John,  as  the  international  Eube  on  the 
world's  stage  of  comedy,  is  too  big  and  husky  to  be  tripped  down 
by  the  soft  muscled  impresarios  of  the  Occident  or  even  by  the 
sparring  jiujitsu  of  Japanese  diplomacy.  If  he  chooses  to  balk 
there  are  not  enough  bayonets  in  the  whole  world  to  prod  him  on 
and  he  can  at  times,  if  he  wishes,  act  like  a  monster  Newfoundland 
dog  I  once  owned,  which,  when  attacked  by  other  dogs,  would 
simply  lay  down  and  nearly  smother  them,  until  he  would  finally, 
with  a  canine  grin,  let  them  run  away,  yelping  and  very  glad  to  be 
still  alive. 

But  the  Japanese  are  indeed  in  a  hard  way  in  their  small 
country — poor  and  circumscribed,  with  their  population  increas- 
ing at  the  rate  of  nearly  a  million  a  year  and  thus  find  themselves 
actually  compelled  to  knock  at  the  door  of  their  rich  old  neighbor, 
Chinese  John,  with  the  request  that  they  be  taken  in  as  free 
boarders.  Whether  they  will  continue  to  merely  give  a  polite 
knuckle  rap  or  whether  they  will  start  in  to  knock  the  door  down 
with  rifle  butts,  will  entirely  depend  as  to  whether  or  not  any  big 
nation  happens  to  be  looking  that  way,  for  Japan  is  already 
forced  to  pay  a  quarter  of  her  whole  revenues,  to  carry  her  present 
debt  and  therefore  can  in  no  wise  afford  to  plunge  into  a  costly 


220    Our  Chinese  Chances  Through  Europe's  War 

prolonged  \var  which  as  soon  as  the  regrouping  of  the  European 
powers  is  determined,  will  have  availed  her  nothing. 

And  in  the  meantime  our  Chances — our  wonderful  American 
Chances — are  awaiting  us. 

Will  we  have  the  foresight  and  the  courage  to  seize  them  ? 


u>     * 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


CD 

URL. 


Form  L9-S 


llf  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILI 

A     000575817     2 


DS 
710 


